Praise and Worship, prayer
Working with a prayer center, the topic of prayer and worship comes up often in a variety of settings and circumstances. I am a massive believer in the power of young people seeking God and singing His praises. It’s my job to help increase the level of prayer across our community.
From time to time, I’ll meet someone in ministry who deliberately leaves out corporate prayer and worship because they believe their students “aren’t ready” to sing songs to The Savior or are afraid newcomers might be “turned off” by extended prayer. There’s an attitude that passionate prayer and worship are extremist expressions of our faith. One might get the impression that worship and prayer were embarrassing things that should be done in private to be followed by a good washing of the hands. It’s no wonder that 80 percent of young people walk away from the faith when they graduate high school. They are, as Manning puts it “young people who have been denied access to their own spiritual depths.”
Last weekend I had the particular honor of speaking at a retreat for Senior High students in our region. I teamed up with my Furnace Midwest worship team and we decided to hold nothing back. We sang praises with passion and prayed with tenacity. It was powerful! What was the response? The students loved it! They dove in and didn’t look back. After dismissing the group (twice) they kept praying for another 45 minutes! One of the youth pastors involved told me that it was the first time he ever saw his kids worship!
The point is this: young people are hungry for an encounter with the living God. They long to connect with God on a heart level that can’t be accomplished through a Bible study alone (and I love the Bible study!) We must provide the next generation with opportunities to worship and pray if more than 4 percent of them are going to make it as adults. As the old saying goes, “He who prays stays, and he who fasts lasts.“
Praise and Worship, prayer
Every Friday night I have the privilege of leading a community-wide prayer meeting for young adults. It’s the highlight of my week to watch young people praise and cry out to God for their city!
Last night I decided to snap a few pictures to share. Enjoy!
prayer
Matthew 15 tells of a woman who came to Jesus to deliver her demon possessed daughter. When she pleaded with Jesus, she received no reply. Eventually, the Lord told her that she wasn’t the kind of person He came to help. Wow! How many of us would have just walked away discouraged and hurting after an answer like that? Not this woman. She was desperate. She wasn’t going anywhere until she received that miracle!
So what did she do? Verse 25 says that she worshiped Him. I think that it’s important that we learn to worship God in the silence. We shouldn’t be quick to interpret His silence as indifference because we can trust that He does love us and cares about our circumstances. Even if we feel He is telling us “no” we should still worship Him for His wisdom and mercy. He has a greater perspective on our lives so we can trust His “no”.
But she still didn’t give up. Remember, she was desperate! This wasn’t a new car she was praying for, this was her daughter! I think there’s something about desperation that moves the heart of God. This woman wasn’t whispering a casual request. She was pleading so loudly and persistently that the disciples were bothered by her. In the end, Jesus granted her request. I believe he honored her desperation with answered prayer. It was Hebrews 11:6 in action. He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Or could that be read, “desperately seek Him” or “persistently, earnestly, tenaciously seek Him”? Don’t give up when God is silent. Persist with faith!
One last thought. When I was in my high school drama class, my teacher used to talk about the dramatic pause. Sometimes the silence during the pause speaks volumes. Jesus’ pause may have just been a way to test the woman’s faith. Whatever the case, if God is silent, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep listening anyway.
prayer, Uncategorized
I saw these pictures taken by photographer Brian Cowen and decided to share them.
There’s something about the image of passionate praise that moves me. Especially the humble, sincere, “Your lowest point is greater than my highest point” kind of praise.
I often wonder what praise will be like in heaven. Our expressions of it here are so inadequate when it comes to giving our appraisal of an all-powerful, universe creating, ever reigning, forever loving God. I’m sure it would blow our minds if we caught a glimpse of it. However, when I see pictures like these, I think what we have for now is pretty cool…
