With a blink of an eye... another year's Deeper Life Conference has come on and gone. In preparation for this year's event, church encouraged us to take part in a 21 day prayer journey with a prayer partner. For 21 straight days, my partner and I engaged in at least 15 minutes of steadfast prayer. We prayed at our house, we prayed over Facetime, we prayed over the phone, WhatsApp, and even when we were both driving!! Towards the end, we both ended up having business trips. He went to Mexico and I went to Denver. The WiFi at our hotels were so spotty, we couldn't hear each other over IP. And thus, we didn't quite complete the journey.
A lot can be said about this "nearly" completed journey. I can testify the breakthrough in my prayer life. I can share about God's faithfulness in answering prayers. I can describe how prayer is so much easier if we spend half our time listening instead of yapping.
But the one single biggest takeaway from the 21* days is.... I felt like I totally and utterly cheated on my wife; and not just your typical tabloid sexual rendezvous with a call girl. This was cheating was on a spiritual level. For 21* days, I set aside 15 precious minutes with another brother to engage in intimate prayer. 15 minutes, in this day and age, is worth it's weight in gold. 15 minutes, in this era of information superhighway, is like an eternity. I don't even remember the last time I prayed with my wife for 15 minutes straight... let alone 21 days* of 15 minutes. My helper. My better half. She who completes me. Yet... I can do something with a brother who has an extremely odd work schedule, but I can't do it with the person I lie next to every night??
Earlier this year... I had a time of meditation with God. And His revelation to me was simple: To achieve more godliness and holiness... I must start with my wife. Love my wife more!!
A couple of months ago... during a time of intercession... we prayed for "New Beginnings" and "New Wineskin." My prophetic revelation at the time was, "For all the times we tried and failed to establish our Family Prayer Altar, we will NOW succeed."
Those two revelations, though causally separate, is mutually inclusive. Along with my realization of needing to pray with my wife, I think the confirmation is here. In order to establish a flourishing and lasting family altar, I can not start with the entire family and have the kids join us. I must start with my wife and only my wife. 5 minutes... 10 minutes... 15 minutes. Pray with my wife every night and let the kids watch. Let the kids see that mom and dad are doing this as part of our daily lives. Slowly the kids will get curious, "Why are mom and dad yelling?" "Are they arguing?" Gradually, they will sit down and listen... and before you know it... prayer time between the two will be come our family altar.
Yes it is awkward. Yes it will be "time consuming." And there will be nights where I'll just want to finish the chores, put the kids to bed and crash. But three times... three times the Lord has reached out and spoke to me. Dare I say No? Or should I whisper the famous words of Samuel, "Yes Lord, Here I am."
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