Duraflame Nights
What's funny is that I was going to write about this topic several days ago...after last nights service...it's perfect timing...
Ever since I was little I have loved the Bible & going to church. I remember ( I must have been 4 or 5) coming home from church, running upstairs with our Family Bible that I could barely carry...laying on the floor looking at the pictures. Even though I was little...it was as if He were speaking directly to me...(I believe He was :)
As I got older & exposed to Christian music...I could sit for hours listening, praying & doing devotionals...Jesus Christ had become my best friend. It was my 9th grade year, when I heard a song by Steve Camp...it was late at night and it brought me to my knees..one of the lyrics read...
Can we really be what we were meant to be,Jesus people living by the Spirit and living free?My heart longs to serve You, but wanders aimlessly.
Oh, Lord, You deserve every part of me.
Hear my cry of desperation
As I see the wickedness of my ways.
You alone are my salvation!
And, Lord, I've learned just one thing to be true
that is the closer I get to You, I see I'm a stranger to Your holiness.
The cool thing about God is that we can talk to Him at anytime,..driving, getting ready for work...I love how accessible He is. What an amazing God that wants to talk us, and for us to talk to Him all day long.
However, something sparked in me when I was on my knees...I felt His "bigness"-(how's that for deep :) Now don't get me wrong...it's not like I get on my knees every day or even every week...but there's POWER in it!! Just recently in talking with Steve about something that we pray for when we are sitting together, I said..."babe...we've got to get on our knees about this!"...
I can't tell you how many times I want to just drop to my knees at church...in choir, in the congregation, on stage...believe me, it doesn't make me more spiritual than anyone else...it's the weight of His Glory...
I read a devotional recently that gave descriptions of people when they experience the Glory of God..they were on there knees...and then it talked about John 18:4-6, when Jesus was about to be arrested.."Jesus asked "whom are you looking for?"..."Jesus of Nazareth, "they replied..."I AM HE"-Jesus said, ..they all fell backward to the ground"...
...some churches kneel every Sunday (and maybe that's where people get bored with it)...but some churches don't do it at all, and they are missing out...and I think it is all about balance...it's realizing and coming to the place to kneel out of reverence to a Holy God.
I have come to love my date nights with God. I fondly call them DURA FLAME nights...Steve is usually gone, I get a duraflame log in the fireplace and listen to worship music, read, be silent, worship again...it is so energizing. (in my old house, I would call them Candle Nights*partylight loved me-I would turn off the lights and light candles)
I would encourage you to try it...on your own, by yourself...just you and God...some friends of mine have moments like that while they are running. (I have to say I would be breathing too hard to hear anyone's voice, much less God's...hahahah) some friends go to parks (especially with Fall just around the corner)...they take a blanket, a warm snuggling sweatshirt, some hot chocolate and have sweet moments with God...
Make it your own...I love all of those ( except for the running one...hahaha) make it special..it's God.
And when you feel like stepping out...ask one of your closest friends to join you! (talk about discipline-instead watching a movie, or chit chatting) to be silent, to read, to worship and to pray together...at some point in your time together I encourage you to pray face down...Whew...it's Good stuff!!!...it will be moments you will treasure the rest of your life with your friend and with God, AND God will speak in ways that you've never encountered before...
Ever since I was little I have loved the Bible & going to church. I remember ( I must have been 4 or 5) coming home from church, running upstairs with our Family Bible that I could barely carry...laying on the floor looking at the pictures. Even though I was little...it was as if He were speaking directly to me...(I believe He was :)
As I got older & exposed to Christian music...I could sit for hours listening, praying & doing devotionals...Jesus Christ had become my best friend. It was my 9th grade year, when I heard a song by Steve Camp...it was late at night and it brought me to my knees..one of the lyrics read...
Can we really be what we were meant to be,Jesus people living by the Spirit and living free?My heart longs to serve You, but wanders aimlessly.
Oh, Lord, You deserve every part of me.
Hear my cry of desperation
As I see the wickedness of my ways.
You alone are my salvation!
And, Lord, I've learned just one thing to be true
that is the closer I get to You, I see I'm a stranger to Your holiness.
The cool thing about God is that we can talk to Him at anytime,..driving, getting ready for work...I love how accessible He is. What an amazing God that wants to talk us, and for us to talk to Him all day long.
However, something sparked in me when I was on my knees...I felt His "bigness"-(how's that for deep :) Now don't get me wrong...it's not like I get on my knees every day or even every week...but there's POWER in it!! Just recently in talking with Steve about something that we pray for when we are sitting together, I said..."babe...we've got to get on our knees about this!"...
I can't tell you how many times I want to just drop to my knees at church...in choir, in the congregation, on stage...believe me, it doesn't make me more spiritual than anyone else...it's the weight of His Glory...
I read a devotional recently that gave descriptions of people when they experience the Glory of God..they were on there knees...and then it talked about John 18:4-6, when Jesus was about to be arrested.."Jesus asked "whom are you looking for?"..."Jesus of Nazareth, "they replied..."I AM HE"-Jesus said, ..they all fell backward to the ground"...
...some churches kneel every Sunday (and maybe that's where people get bored with it)...but some churches don't do it at all, and they are missing out...and I think it is all about balance...it's realizing and coming to the place to kneel out of reverence to a Holy God.
I have come to love my date nights with God. I fondly call them DURA FLAME nights...Steve is usually gone, I get a duraflame log in the fireplace and listen to worship music, read, be silent, worship again...it is so energizing. (in my old house, I would call them Candle Nights*partylight loved me-I would turn off the lights and light candles)
I would encourage you to try it...on your own, by yourself...just you and God...some friends of mine have moments like that while they are running. (I have to say I would be breathing too hard to hear anyone's voice, much less God's...hahahah) some friends go to parks (especially with Fall just around the corner)...they take a blanket, a warm snuggling sweatshirt, some hot chocolate and have sweet moments with God...
Make it your own...I love all of those ( except for the running one...hahaha) make it special..it's God.
And when you feel like stepping out...ask one of your closest friends to join you! (talk about discipline-instead watching a movie, or chit chatting) to be silent, to read, to worship and to pray together...at some point in your time together I encourage you to pray face down...Whew...it's Good stuff!!!...it will be moments you will treasure the rest of your life with your friend and with God, AND God will speak in ways that you've never encountered before...
posted by Stacey | 8:14 AM
3 Comments:
amen :)
there are so many times, during worship or even prayer, that i feel compelled to be on my knees.
the physical expression of my surrender and acknowledgement of His holiness feels SO GOOD :-)
Great stuff... thank you for sharing what God has placed on your heart.
The weight of His glory...I can't even fathom it.
Post a Comment
<< Home