let faith arise

so this week marks the end of the 4th week since we have established a house of prayer for the LORD--nearly a month. the excitement of the "new-ness" of the idea has died down, and we may be at a place where we have become weary from the quarter, and weary about our role in intercession and prayer. we may have wondered if we made any difference when we sacrificed time (and sleep) out of our lives over our past few weeks to commit to a shift. we may have wondered if it is really worth it to take time out of our busy lives to sit in a room and talk to an unseen God. and if our talking with God in a room could actually bring any change to the brokenness and pain we see around us and at UCSD.

if that is how you feel, you might be missing the heart of intercession. you might have missed the core of God's heart and His desire for us to intercede to ask Him to bring mercy and bring heaven on earth. God doesn't want to waste our time, nor would He want us to bring him empty sacrifices and acts of worship in order to please Him. that's called playing religion.

rather, in the place of prayer, God desires 2 things (i might be repeating myself):
1) first and foremost, to encounter His heart--in intimacy, to gain the knowledge of His love for us. rooted and grounded in love.
2) for us to partner with Him in crying out for the things He longs for. and how much more His heart breaks for this campus compared to my heart!

maybe we shouldn't pray to see results. because if we do, then we get offended when nothing happens. results will come in His timing and His sovereignty. and He will come, as He's faithful to the end.
(actually, He already has come. thank you Holy Spirit! we love Your presence!)
"[He] has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" 2 corinth. 5:5

rather, let us approach prayer as an act of love, so we can seek the face of Love. let us anticipate the moment we can enjoy an hour of just being with Love, to explore the depths of His heart and come into agreement with His desires for this campus.
as we enjoy being with Love, prayer no longer becomes duty, obligation, empty-hearted sacrifice, or burden. the moment it does is when we need to have a heart check.

by faith, let us enter into the place of prayer with confidence knowing that we are meeting with Love. and we are preparing for Him a heavenly dwelling on earth. and it will be the most joyful thing we can possibly do with our time. we will never the same.

"now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
-heb 11:1

"and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
-heb 11:6

"so we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by faith and not by sight."-2 corinth 5:6-7

let's press in! He has been doing such a great work on this campus!

but His greatest work is the one He is doing in you.

-eric