The Front Lines

I’ve always wanted to be in the fray. I’m the kind of person who likes to be in the thick of things. I love being “in the know,” the person who gets to go through the “authorized personnel only” door, the one who knows the answer when asked a question, the “subject matter expert” (as the DOD would say). I love to be on teams and in clubs or groups. I love dancing, but only as part of a pair. I love singing, but my favorite thing is to sing in a choir. I even preferred to do homework in a group when I was in college. I just LOVE the feeling of being “in this together.” And I’ve always wanted that to translate to the spiritual competition as well. Wanted to see and experience the front lines, so to speak.

So God gave me a passion for prayer. Which means that I’m sitting here, in my very cozy bed, under my penguin sheets (they are Awesome! They are wearing little hats and earmuffs and scarves), and still on the very front lines of the battle as I pray. The trenches are somewhat comfier than expected.

One of my goals as I returned home from YWAM was to start some sort of prayer group during my time at home (however long that happens to last). I was picturing a once-a-week meeting of people sitting in the same room and praying together. That’s not exactly how it worked out, but in a completely unexpected and un-looked-for way, I managed to end up spearheading a widespread weekly prayer group. Every Monday, now, there is a group of people committed to pray for an hour each, spread throughout the whole day so there is someone praying at all times for 24 hours in a row, once a week. I know this is not the first 24 hour prayer group in existence. Not by a long shot. Probably not the 1000th. BUT, I get to be right in the thick of it. And as of right now, the 35-ish of us who have committed to this are battle buddies, with each other and with God, shoulder to shoulder on the front lines.

It’s so tempting to overlook the importance of this. It’s just a small group of people who are each praying for an hour a week. What are a couple more voices against what the world is facing? But, as James 5:16 says, “the effective prayer of a righteous person has great power.” The prayers of one righteous person have great power, how about 35? God has limited His working to our asking; He’s just waiting for us to ask so He can go to town. With the power of the Almighty just waiting for our bidding, how can we doubt that, with our wills aligned to His, there is nothing that can’t be accomplished through prayer?

It’s also truly a delight to me that 35 people are devoting an hour to being with their Father. They’re setting aside the world for a while to focus on Him. They are taking a “zero hour” (if you read my last post) to step back from busy and loud and on-the-go to be with God. And that’s all He’s looking for. During my first hour tonight, God whispered how happy He was to have my undivided attention for a little while. Because if He could choose to do ANYTHING, anything in all of creation, He would choose to spend time with me, His girl. Isn’t that why He created the universe? Isn’t that why He gave His son? Just so He could spend uninhibited time with His kids. Oh, how He loves us!

If there’s anything I could choose to be in the thick of, if there’s any team I’d like to be on, it’s this. Battling with God and others who love Him to take back the world from the clutches of the enemy? Sign me up. Sounds like the most epic adventure of all time! And you know how I feel about adventure 😉