.PRAY.

Volume 14...

.PRAY.

Yep, that's pretty simple. In fact, that's where we started SEVENS, over a year ago. And last month, I was kind of getting at this point too, when I commented on how I kept seeing the scriptures saying things like "Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray."

But really, isn't this where we need to be? On our knees in prayer?

As I type this, we are about 3 hours into a 24-hour prayer vigil at Northridge, where I serve as youth minister. You probably know how it works: people in our church family have been asked to set aside 30 minutes, to peel away from our busy schedules and forget everything else... just for 30 minutes... and pray. There's even a sheet that has been put together with plenty of things people have brought to our attention - from the salvation of loved ones, to cancer, to financial difficulty, to depression... and so much more. People often say they wouldn't know what to pray for, but then they give it a try, they see this list we've made, and during their time in prayer, they think of so many more things that are on their heart... and they come out 45 minutes or an hour later saying, "Oops, I 'went over' a bit. I didn't even get halfway through my list!"

So what happened in there? I guess God wasn't watching his clock. He had a little more in mind than our 30 minutes.

Looks like maybe we could spend more time in prayer if we just ALLOWED it to be as important as it REALLY IS... I don't want to belabor the obvious, but we're talking about spending time alone with the Creator and Sustainer... our Savior and our Lord...

He wants that time. And we just have a thousand things that get in the way. Well, push them out of the way tonight. No matter where you are, have your own little vigil. Make an appointment to open your heart up and talk with YAHWEH SABAOTH - the LORD ALMIGHTY.

You'll find He's been waiting for you.
And you may also find he wants more than 30 minutes.
Aaron
(Originally published November 7, 2008)