Pop Quiz

At about two o’clock one morning I woke up, and felt the need to pray in the Spirit. There are prayers to God in our own language. Then, there are prayers to God in a heavenly language (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). I told of how I received my prayer language in a previous post, I Need Help Now. I don’t know what I’m saying as I pray, but at times the Lord will show me through pictures in my mind what I’m praying about. I just know I am glad for this prayer language. There is so much to pray for. There is so much heartbreak in the world that I sometimes get overwhelmed. Where do I begin? How do I word this correctly? How do I pray enough with my schedule? Lord, help!

Well, that night both kids were sleeping in my room, and they were awake. My son started having a coughing fit. I helped him get a couple drinks of water. Then I rebuked the spirits of interruption & distraction. My son immediately stopped coughing. Both of my children and my dog, who also wanted in on the slumber party, fell back asleep. I continued to pray in the Spirit until three in the morning. After, I tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn’t a deep sleep.

When I arose for the day, I got my coffee. I began praying, and asking God to help me get through the wall I felt was blocking me from him. I felt stiff, exhausted, and a little disoriented.  I thought about a recent sermon I heard. The pastor said,

You have to want righteousness more than you want grace.

So I began reading out loud the psalms that praised God. After about the fifth one, the walls came down in the form of tears. I felt release, relaxation, and the presence of the Lord. A song came to my mind so I sang out loud,

Bless the Lord oh my soul! Oh my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before, oh my soul, I’ll worship his holy name…

Never in the Bible does our Lord say walking with him will be easy. On the contrary, he reminds us in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). Still, this world is temporary. Heaven and hell are, well, an eternity. What will you do when you get distracted or uncomfortable. Will you press in and seek God, or will you roll over and go back to sleep?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1