Conviction and Encouragement

This was written by my friend Hannah, and posted on her blog (which I encourage you to subscribe to!): http://www.hannah-rayne.blogspot.com/. If the message that she has shared in this post does not convict, challenge, and encourage you, then I don't know what will. And I repeat her question: Will you join the ranks? Will you lay yourself on the alter of sacrifice in order to let the Lord take control? I want to! But I know that I can't do it alone! I need the Lord's help, and I need your prayers!

Revolution's Flame

I’m tired of dreaming Revolution but not acting it. I’m tired of the complacency that follows me everywhere. I’m tired of the fact that it’s so easy to spend hours talking with friends, and yet so hard to spend an hour on my knees. I’m tired of reading those quotes about young people finishing the work, and not doing a thing different. I’m tired of having plenty when there are children starving with nothing. I’m ready for a change. Aren’t you?

 

I might not be going to Africa tomorrow. In fact I know I won’t be. But aren’t there people starving here in America too? Starving for love—starving for Jesus?

 

Isn’t it time for a change? I mean a real one. Not one that just begins and ends in our imagination; but one that changes us, our friends, and eventually our corner of the world?

 

Isn’t it time to pray like we’ve never prayed before? Not just for ourselves but for each other? To not even think twice about spending an hour on our knees, at any time, if that’s what the Master calls for?

And isn’t it time to put aside all foolishness? I mean, when was the last time we got together and our first thought was to talk about Jesus? And even if it was, somehow it wasn’t what came out. I’m tired of how awfully easy it is in the moment to burst out laughing at the end of a funny story and soon be on to one of my own, and yet how hard it is to keep a straight face and totally change the direction of the conversation. Where do funny stories fit into the Revolution?

 

I’m only sharing what He’s put on my heart. And I know it’s not just my heart He’s working on. Because this whole Revolution—it’s something we embark on together.

And yet somehow we’ve got to start living it, not just for a day, but for a lifetime. How? This is the question I’ve been pondering, and I’m coming to the conclusion that the only way is through a total heart change.

 

Because you know what it’s like. One morning I wake up all ready to jump out of bed and spend time with Him, and the next day I have no enthusiasm. That’s got to change.

 

And I’m sure I’m not the only one who has those times when I’m so close to Him that I can almost sense His heartbeat, but then a few weeks (or days) later I feel a million miles from Him.

And yet somehow, I just don’t think we can be living the Revolution one day and not the next. He’s got to change our hearts so that we get out of bed whether we feel like it or not, and fall on our knees. He’s got to place in us the burning desire to live in His presence, so that when He feels a million miles away, we won’t rest until we know our heart is knit with His.

 

And we’ve got to put aside our feelings and live by faith. We can’t just live it when we feel like it and just dream it when we don’t.

 

Luther lived revolution in his day. What was his key? Prayer. Bible study. He didn’t just read a daily devotional and pray a “help me be good today” prayer. It was hours of prayer, hours of time in the word. It’s what gave not only Luther, but the fathers of our faith their power.

 

And so, I am challenging myself, and I’m inviting you to join me. An hour of uninterrupted time on my knees everyday. Maybe you’re all doing it already, and I’m the last to catch on…

As for all I’m going to say on my knees for an hour, or how it’s going to fit into my schedule when I’m traveling, to be honest, I don’t know. But He does. And this Revolution is because we love Him.

Let me share a prayer from my journal this morning, and let me tell you again—I want to live this Revolution together.

 

“Revolution’s flame, begin in me. Put me heart and life aflame. More than anything this world offers, light my heart with loyalty. Self—let it be no more. Only the dead wood is ignitable. Take away my plenty; my all is Yours. Just let that fire burn bright in me. Bring the furnace seven times hotter, until I am pure gold, reflecting You. Change my heart—make it like Thine, until my life matches my words. No more dreaming about Revolution—let me live it.”

 

The enemy is waiting to knock us flat. But in my mind I see a battlefield with a line of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder. The enemy tries to break through their ranks, but he can’t. Sooner will they give their lives than give him the victory. Their prayers are constantly ascending for each other. They stand, a solid line of soldiers—fighting together.

 

I’m ready for Revolution. Jesus, I’m looking forward to that hour tomorrow morning. And I’m thinking I won’t be the only one. Do whatever it takes to make us live Revolution. I’m in, if You’ll lead me.

--Written by Hannah Rayne, inspired by the Lord