I was 16 years old – I’d been baptized in the Holy Ghost for 2 years, and had been born again for 6 years. I was with a group of friends, at a tent revival in Tifton, GA. I sat under that old tent and just wept seeking God, to Know Him, to understand His Ways… My prayer was, God reveal yourself to me, show me who YOU are, let me know you…
At 16, that passion burned so hard and so bright in my heart that I wasn’t willing to let anything put it out. I wanted to know God.
At 39, I find myself sitting in the sanctuary, crying out, “GOD, I WANT TO KNOW YOU, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND YOUR WAYS, SHOW ME WHO YOU ARE, LET ME KNOW YOU…” And suddenly I have a flashback to when I was 16 and realize, the same fire that burned then, burns now. His Presence that burned the image of His Face into my heart is all I’m seeking. I want to grow up in Him, to know Him more than anyone or anything else.
I share all of this because in the 30 or so years I’ve been pursuing God’s Awesome, Overwhelming, Miraculous Presence, here are just a few thoughts that have been fused to my soul about this fire:
- It costs everything – personal desires, plans, purposes, everything…
- It consumes the soul and devastates willfulness, and selfishness
- It doesn’t destroy individuality, but sanctifies it, and makes “who He created us to be more alive, more real.”
- It can only be fueled through
- An unstoppable prayer life
- An insatiable hunger for the Word
- A “Face-down” worship life
- A Hungry Heart
- A Faithful, Consistent Heart that remains steady, no matter what
By no means have I attained all this, but it’s what I’ve learned about the Fire of His Presence. Today, I’m encouraged to seek Him more than ever, i want Him to use all of us to help encourage believers to seek Him with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength.
Let’s allow Him to consume us with His awesome Presence. Where you are, right now, ask Him to increase the desire for His Presence, draw near to Him in this moment, and he will draw near to you.
This was just on my mind as I finished my day. I’ve prayed, sought His face, conquored a migraine, cried at a few difficult conversations, laughed at a few funny events, all the while, living this life of Revival Culture, desiring God more than anything else, living with both feet on earth, and both hands in heaven, dragging, through prayer, God’s plans and purposes into my life and prayerfully the life of others through prayer and declaring, “Your Kingdom Come and Your Will Be Done ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN
Developing Your Faith 