"The key of holy desperation for the presence and ministry of Jesus is required in order for us to move out of our complacent, satisfied existence. Desperation is the underlying fuel that ignites our hearts for unity, prayer, worship, and repentance. If we aren’t longing for Jesus our ministry activities will be routine and hollow. There is certainly no shortage of ideas, plans, methods, books, teachings, programs, and activities in the church; what we are suffering from is a drought of desperation for God!” Rhonda Hughey Are we desperate enough for God and His presence? This is a good question for each of us to ponder. I taste the level of commitment necessary for city transformation whenever I am involved in a 24/7 House of Prayer. I remember how I felt after finishing a non-stop, one month 24/7 House of Prayer in Spain a few years ago. It was as if we stepped into the fire of God’s presence in that location in southern Spain. Prayer lives had been challenged. The question I had to ask myself at that time was:
How far am I willing to go?
How desperate am I willing to become?
It was time to proceed. Many of us had stepped in this far and the levels of commitment required were going higher. God had challenged us to a new phase, a new mountain to climb for His glory. He wanted us to go deeper in holy desperation. The battle had been great, but there was no turning back. There was something so exceeding real and alive to that dimension of living. There was something so necessary and dynamic to that taste of unity between the churches. Suddenly we realized that we were in this together, and we desperately needed one another to touch that region of Spain with God’s glory. I began to value and love the body of Christ in all its’ dimensions as I had never done before. I began to understand what it meant to be members of one another. We had tapped into God’s wonderful plan for Kingdom living, and I never wanted to return to the old ways. God had brought me a step further in holy desperation during that time. I felt really alive with the purposes of God! We will not see transformation in our cities and neighborhoods until our hearts move into a greater level of holy desperation for God. Rhonda Hughey in her bookDesperate for His Presence shares about purposely pursuing God. She says: “The decision to make a radical lifestyle change and realign our hearts with the Lord is a matter of our will availing itself of God’s grace and reprioritizing our time and commitments. We can willingly and purposely begin to pursue God! When we do, He responds, and the more time we spend in His presence, the more desperate for Him we will become. It’s an interesting dynamic; the hungrier we are for Him, the hungrier we will become for more of Him!”
There are ways we can evaluate our cities and our personal lives to see if they are on their way towards transformation. We can discern if the signs of transformation are present and increasing in our city. George Otis, Jr. gives several indicators of transformation. Below are some of these indicators adapted from his study. Take time to regularly evaluate your city and your personal life, and pray through these indicators. Most of our cities have a long way to go, but desperate prayer is the key. Study and pray these verses over the area where you live. Take inventory and prayerfully answer these questions about your own life regarding holy desperation.
- The political leaders acknowledge their sin and dependence on God - 2 Kings 11:17-18, 23:2 and Jonah 3:6-9. Do I acknowledge sin in my own life? In what areas do I need to grow in holiness? Make a list.
- The economic conditions improve - 2 Chronicles 17:3-5, Psalm 144:14, Isaiah 60:5, and Amos 9:13. Am I wise in my spending, and do I give to the Lord’s work?
- Kingdom values are integrated into daily life - Ezra 10:4, Nehemiah 8:10, Ecclesiastes 10:17, and Acts 19:17-20. Am I practicing Kingdom living in my own life? See the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.
- Crime and corruption diminish - 2 Kings 12:13-15, Nehemiah 5:6-12, and Isaiah 60:17-18. Are there any evil practices in the way I live?
- New laws are put into effect - 2 Chronicles 19:10 and Nehemiah 10:31. Am I obedient to the laws of God? Where do I need to grow in obeying God’s Word?
- There is a decline in divorce, bankruptcy and suicide - Nehemiah 12:27-28, 43, Isaiah 54:11-14, 62:3, 7, Jeremiah 30:17-1, 31:11-13, and Hosea 2:15. How are my family relationships? In what ways am I seeking to help those who are struggling with marriage, hopelessness, or poverty?
- The natural environment is restored - Leviticus 26:4-5, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Ezekiel 34:27, and 36:29-30. How am I helping, or hindering, God’s natural environment?
- Christians take responsibility in healing and helping their community -Isaiah 58:10-12 and 61:104. In what ways am I helping my community?
- Christians take revival into other cities and nations -2 Chronicles 17:9, Isaiah 61:6, and Acts 11:20-26. What is the level of my revival passion? Am I fervent for revival in my city and nation, or am I apathetic?
We will not begin to see this kind of transformation in our cities unless we first become desperate for God. He wants us to become so desperate for His presence so that we want it more than anything else in the world. What does desperation look like? Let me give you a good example: A young man approached the Greek philosopher Socrates and said, “O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge.” Socrates took this young man and walked him down to the sea. They waded into the water, and he dunked the young man under the water for thirty seconds. Finally he let the man up for air and asked him to repeat what he wanted. He sputtered, “Knowledge, O great one.” So Socrates dunked him under the water and held him there a little longer. He then asked the question again. After several dunkings and responses, the philosopher asked, "What do you want?” The young man gasped,“Air, I want air!” “Good,” said Socrates, “When you want knowledge as much as you want air, you shall have it.” In a similar way, God wants us to be desperate for His presence like this young man gasping for air. Many of us have faced moments of desperation in this life.- If you’ve just lost your job and have five children to take care of, you know what it’s like to be desperate.
- If you are starving and are searching everywhere for a meal, you know what it’s like to be desperate.
- If you’ve been saved out of drugs, have overcome alcohol, have lost a loved one or have lived through a terminal disease, you know what it’s like to be desperate.
- If you remember what it’s like to be lost and searching for the answer and now know what it’s like to have found Jesus, you know what it’s like to be desperate.
God wants us to seek Him desperately and invites us to seek Him with all of our heart. Desperation is one of the secrets to a deeper prayer life. Are you willing to respond to this invitation? The door is before you - the door of intimacy and the door to His presence. Let’s invite the King of glory to radically come into our lives and take over, asking Him to make us passionate in prayer. Are we not right at this moment in a place of desperation for the transformation of our cities and nations? How bad must things get before we become desperate? Nothing will happen without God. Let’s invite the King of glory in. Let’s say like David in Psalm 24:9-10: “Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty - he is the King of glory.” “Lord, we open the door to your invitation. Make us holy. Radically change our personal lives and reprioritize everything. We seek Your face. Make us hungry. Make us desperate for You and Your presence. Change our city. Bring revival to our nation. In Jesus’ name, amen.” “To be desperate means to be without hope in your current condition and to know that in your own power you don’t have the necessary resources required to change it. People who are desperate become determined to find help, often taking great risks to meet their desperate need. In the communities where transforming revival has occurred the people of God were desperate enough to change their lifestyle and their priorities and to commit their time and resources, making everything secondary to the desperate pursuit of God in their midst. They cried out in desperation, and the Lord heard their cry.” Rhonda Hughey
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org |
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