Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Prayer Language is Precious.

11:14 AM by Christi Bowman

I am contemplative and experiential. I experience God and I am stronger in the Spirit when I am alone or when worship music is playing in the background...while I am alone. I hear Gods voice and I understand and accept His guidance and direction much better when I can get away and allow myself to pull inward.

I need to experience and hear Him in all of the situations I find myself in. I need to be able to experience God, be strong in the Spirit, hear His voice and accept His guidance and direction when I am not alone or not in a state of musical worship.

The way in which I experience God the least is relationally. It is hardest for me to tune into the Spirit when I am around people. People tend to pull me outside of myself and I fight to want to stay in. This is especially hard being the mom of three children and really hungering after being in the presence of God at all times. Also, we are called to be a bright light, and to not hide. Retreating inside myself when confrontation strikes would be easy...it would be familiar...it is what I do...or what I did. Staying in the conversation allows my light to shine.

This weekend, Andrew said you cannot sin and speak in tongues at the same time. I like that wisdom. If I can speak my language I am doing the right thing...even if it is making me uncomfortable and I would rather retreat.

This is where I am finding that the gift of tongues is an actual gift and not something else you have to do to gain Gods favor. Speaking in an unknown language that I don't understand allows for me a disconnect, and I find that I can call on it whether I am alone or with people, or in a stressful situation. It gives me the ability to function in the moment but have peace that the presence of God is with me and on me and fighting for me.

Revelations 3:11-12: 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Tongues are taking the place of my alcohol and my cigarette. Those things, and others like them, made it easy to go inward...to retreat. My prayer language allows me to find comfort while staying in community despite the tension community brings with it at times. When God does sweep your house clean you do need to fill it with something else so that there is no room for the old to return. My prayer language gives me the confidence to get through situations when I am less than confident. It reminds me of who I am in Christ and His promises to protect me even when the circumstances physically reveal something less than that.

Hebrews 13:5&6
God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

It keeps me focused on the prize, and it reminds me that there is a very real war being waged around me and that not every battle has to be won on the spot for the war to be won. The war is won although we still battle for light.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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