i really liked and appreciated the prayer that kyo prayed for me during fg on friday. it was so thoughtful, and it strangely made me more aware of my situation; that it was a year of transitions — finishing final projects + graduating, wedding, moving back to singapore, getting a job, living with in-laws. in her prayer, she said that she knew what they were like as individual events and how stressful they all were on their own, so she couldn't imagine me doing all of that at the same time. huh. i never considered it that way, which may mean a few things: (a) my faith is so steady that i'm resting in the grace and provision of God for everything, (b) i'm awesome, or (c) the gravity and the reality of the situation has not hit me. i'm going with (b) and (c), and i don't know whether this oblivion is a good thing, but at least i'm not fretting...yet.
thank God for kyo. she's truly one of the funniest girls i've ever met in my life. like, even funnier than i am, and i think i'm already pretty hilarious, what with my good jokes that i've been sharing with you guys in the virtual world. but seriously, kyo's funny-ness is not in her being a clown. i enjoy her presence very much because she says the things that no one dares to say even though we are all thinking it. and not in a rude manner at all, though i cannot quite pinpoint something humorous that she's uttered recently.
alright, kyo aside. the second study on prayer is a continuation on kingdom-centered prayer and spiritual renewal, and we find out that one non-negotiable aspect in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive, kingdom-centered prayer. this can be defined as:
1. one that is focused on God's presence and kingdom
jack miller, author of outgrowing the ingrown church, talks about the difference between "maintenance" and "frontline" prayer meetings. the former one is short, mechanical, and solely focused on the physical church needs, while the frontline prayer is (a) a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves, (b) a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church, and (c) a yearning to know God, to see His face and His glory.
2. one that is bold and specific
the example of moses shows us how one takes the lead when praying fervently for renewal. he pitched a tabernacle outside israel's camp, and everyone prayed for God's presence and to see His glory. such a prayer need not start off as an organized. it is one that is private and sometimes agonizing for the leaders. the characteristics of such prayer include:
(a) time spent on self-examination
with an understanding of grace, find out whether your heart has been chasing idols. if you do it in the context of the gospel, it is meant to be purifying and strengthening to your soul.
(b) having a sight of the glory of God
which also includes asking (i) for a personal experience of the glory and presence (#exodus 33:13), (ii) for the people to experience this glory (#v15), and (iii) that the world might see the glory of God through His people (#v16).
3. one that is prevailing and corporate
this means constant prayer, and not sporadic and brief. not that God wants to see us grovel at His feet, but if we prayed briefly and sporadically, it reflects the true state of our heart; that we lack dependence and think ourselves as self-sufficient. we have not built an altar that God can honor with His fire.
as such, we should learn to pray without ceasing; pray long, pray hard, and allow our hard hearts to melt, to tear down those barriers and have the glory of God penetrate into our beings.
how does one build an altar for spiritual renewal to then take place? firstly, spiritual renewal cannot be created, it is God who sends "the fire", our part is to prepare the altar and the sacrifice. only then can God send His Holy Spirit.
as an individual, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices (#romans 12:1-2) as "altars" for personal revival and spiritual renewal.
as a church, we learn from the life of the Lord Jesus, where He taught the disciples how to build an altar in acts 1. the building of the altar for the church consists at least four parts:
(a) being vision-driven
instead of being concerned with the nature of God's kingdom and how it will spread as they become witnesses for Him, Christ's disciples were more preoccupied with what He was going to do in the world. as such, Jesus had to correct their faulty vision and point to something bigger than wanting a political campaign. likewise, we should also be driven to want to bring others under the kingship of Christ through our lives and words.
(b) being gospel-driven
it is only when we preach the gospel ourselves, about our standing in Christ, that the Holy Spirit can use that truth and set it on fire in our hearts, which will create times of assurance that helps to equip us for service.
(c) being prayer-driven
its importance is self-explanatory. it is only with prayer that we find it possible for the Spirit to take up both the vision and gospel and make them realities in our lives.
(d) being leader-driven
the disciples in acts 1:15-26 asked God to raise up leaders. our personal and corporate revivals will occur through leaders which God identifies and equips.
sooo deep, and it really moves one away from being self-centered and more Christ-centered as well as kingdom-centered. i think sometimes i fall short of being kingdom-centered because i momentarily forget that i am a witness for Christ wherever i go. and this is reflected in the things i pray for or even busy my mind with. i don't know about you, but consciously being less self-centered already takes a lot out of me. now i have to go beyond and be consciously kingdom-centered? more grace, oh Lord, more grace!
`duchess twirled
at 8:16 PM
thank God for kyo. she's truly one of the funniest girls i've ever met in my life. like, even funnier than i am, and i think i'm already pretty hilarious, what with my good jokes that i've been sharing with you guys in the virtual world. but seriously, kyo's funny-ness is not in her being a clown. i enjoy her presence very much because she says the things that no one dares to say even though we are all thinking it. and not in a rude manner at all, though i cannot quite pinpoint something humorous that she's uttered recently.
alright, kyo aside. the second study on prayer is a continuation on kingdom-centered prayer and spiritual renewal, and we find out that one non-negotiable aspect in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive, kingdom-centered prayer. this can be defined as:
1. one that is focused on God's presence and kingdom
jack miller, author of outgrowing the ingrown church, talks about the difference between "maintenance" and "frontline" prayer meetings. the former one is short, mechanical, and solely focused on the physical church needs, while the frontline prayer is (a) a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves, (b) a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church, and (c) a yearning to know God, to see His face and His glory.
2. one that is bold and specific
the example of moses shows us how one takes the lead when praying fervently for renewal. he pitched a tabernacle outside israel's camp, and everyone prayed for God's presence and to see His glory. such a prayer need not start off as an organized. it is one that is private and sometimes agonizing for the leaders. the characteristics of such prayer include:
(a) time spent on self-examination
with an understanding of grace, find out whether your heart has been chasing idols. if you do it in the context of the gospel, it is meant to be purifying and strengthening to your soul.
(b) having a sight of the glory of God
which also includes asking (i) for a personal experience of the glory and presence (#exodus 33:13), (ii) for the people to experience this glory (#v15), and (iii) that the world might see the glory of God through His people (#v16).
3. one that is prevailing and corporate
this means constant prayer, and not sporadic and brief. not that God wants to see us grovel at His feet, but if we prayed briefly and sporadically, it reflects the true state of our heart; that we lack dependence and think ourselves as self-sufficient. we have not built an altar that God can honor with His fire.
as such, we should learn to pray without ceasing; pray long, pray hard, and allow our hard hearts to melt, to tear down those barriers and have the glory of God penetrate into our beings.
how does one build an altar for spiritual renewal to then take place? firstly, spiritual renewal cannot be created, it is God who sends "the fire", our part is to prepare the altar and the sacrifice. only then can God send His Holy Spirit.
as an individual, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices (#romans 12:1-2) as "altars" for personal revival and spiritual renewal.
as a church, we learn from the life of the Lord Jesus, where He taught the disciples how to build an altar in acts 1. the building of the altar for the church consists at least four parts:
(a) being vision-driven
instead of being concerned with the nature of God's kingdom and how it will spread as they become witnesses for Him, Christ's disciples were more preoccupied with what He was going to do in the world. as such, Jesus had to correct their faulty vision and point to something bigger than wanting a political campaign. likewise, we should also be driven to want to bring others under the kingship of Christ through our lives and words.
(b) being gospel-driven
it is only when we preach the gospel ourselves, about our standing in Christ, that the Holy Spirit can use that truth and set it on fire in our hearts, which will create times of assurance that helps to equip us for service.
(c) being prayer-driven
its importance is self-explanatory. it is only with prayer that we find it possible for the Spirit to take up both the vision and gospel and make them realities in our lives.
(d) being leader-driven
the disciples in acts 1:15-26 asked God to raise up leaders. our personal and corporate revivals will occur through leaders which God identifies and equips.
sooo deep, and it really moves one away from being self-centered and more Christ-centered as well as kingdom-centered. i think sometimes i fall short of being kingdom-centered because i momentarily forget that i am a witness for Christ wherever i go. and this is reflected in the things i pray for or even busy my mind with. i don't know about you, but consciously being less self-centered already takes a lot out of me. now i have to go beyond and be consciously kingdom-centered? more grace, oh Lord, more grace!
`duchess twirled
at 8:16 PM
