It's never happened before and maybe it won't happen again but it happened this one time for more reasons than I can comprehend. I've been led to pray plenty of times. The Spirit knows how to nudge me, He knows my ear is tuned to His voice. He knows how to burden me, to share His anguish with my heart and let it fuel my simple faith. Usually this is how it works: I get the nudge, I pray what is put on my heart, I believe He is who He says He is and that He wills that this be accomplished, and I leave it in His hands with complete faith. This can take less than five minutes. The time doesn't matter, eloquence doesn't matter, whether your eyes are open or closed doesn't matter. It's about obedience, a tuned ear, a heart position, and faith. This one time it went like this... "Will you keep watch with Me?" He nudged familiarly. "Yes." replied my willing heart. The burden came. This was an all-night thing. This was a watch-until-morning thing. This was a stay-awake-with-Me-in-the-garden thing. A prayer partner was necessary. A space to stay awake all night in was necessary too. The "Little House" wasn't even finished yet, there was limited electricity and no running water, but the heat was on. As soon as I texted Ali to ask her to keep watch with me, she dropped everything, grabbed coffees and committed to be up with me through the whole night. That's the Body of Christ in action, people. It was beautiful. Like foot washing. We met at the Little House, cleaned the floor, rolled out my rug, moved the couch in, plugged in two lamps and settled in for the long hours between 9pm and 6am.
The peacefulness of the night, words of worship echoing through the dark, and two souls gladly sacrificing a night of sleep to stand guard in the spiritual realm for a dearly beloved child of the Lord's. It didn't look like you may imagine. We didn't have a string of words coming out of our mouths for nine hours. We didn't struggle to stay awake, it was as natural as if it was the middle of the day -- the Lord equips us for what He calls us to do. When the Lord would put something on my heart I would pray it. When certain lyrics jumped out of the songs in the background I sang along in agreement and proclaimed-faith. When the Lord would lead Ali to a scripture passage she would read it. We shared testimonies from our lives with each other. We sat in silence and stillness. And when the sun came up and Ali went home, the burden lifted from me and I felt sleepy for the first time all night. When I locked up and drove home, it never occurred to me that that was the first "living" I had done in my new home.
I wanted to have a house-warming party once I got moved completely, settled in and had everything the way I wanted it. As time has gone by plans for such a party have continued to be pushed back. Instead of inviting everyone in at one time, the Little House is getting shared slowly, intentionally, personally, quietly. From day one it has been a blessing best shared, a refuge of peace and comfort, something not just beautiful to look at but beautiful to be in. And it was christened with that night of prayer. That was the house-warming party. At the Little House's most humble stage of furnishing, with nothing to offer for refreshment but what had been brought. That's what made it homey before I even made it my home. When people step inside they sense it -- the heart position, the attentive ear, the warm invitation of a familiar voice. They don't even realize it, but I recognize it in their body-language. The longer they stay the more rest they receive and when they leave their hearts are more full than when they first walked through the door. Do you know the joy of happy obedience and open-handed (open door) living? If you're ever in the neighborhood, please step next door and share this blessing with me. To give is truly better than to receive.
No comments:
Post a Comment