Consecration Precedes Conquest
For a long time now, I have felt the calling to a prayerful lifestyle…an “Anna anointing” as Mike Bickle, the founder of IHOP, would call it. In the book of Luke it is said that Anna never left the temple, but rather worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Her life didn’t start out this way, but she did eventually step into the calling for her life- one of laying aside the things of this world and pursuing the Lord’s heart. It was because of this constant pressing in to the things of the Lord, she was able to recognize immediately the child in which Mary held as being the One who would bring “the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38).
I have wrestled with a couple of things for a while now. Two things that I feel like the Lord has been asking me to do…not in a forceful way, but more in a gentle, it is my choice kind of way. The first I have unfortunately chosen not to walk in to the extent that I and the Lord would like. Yet, I still feel it pull on my heart often, and when I do respond to that tugging, I am filled to the brim with joy and meaning. It is this Anna anointing; a calling to devote myself to the intercessory type of prayer in which I pray to God what He tells me to pray. It sounds weird I know, but it is such an intimate thing that knowing in your soul what the Lord desires from you can bring you nothing less than complete surrender to His will. The reason I have not yet fully engaged in this lifestyle is simply selfishness. Intercession requires time…a lot of time. Time is precious in this world, and much of our time we spend on ourselves, meeting our own needs. So in order to truly respond to this “Anna” calling- it is clear what needs to be done…
This leads me to the second thing I feel the Lord is calling me to do. It has to do with the definition of the first word in the title of this blog: consecration. Consecration means to set apart or set aside. In the context of my life, it means setting aside my own desires, goals, motives, plans…in favor of God’s direction. Why is that so hard?? Why can I not see past my own desires sometimes to realize that there are bigger issues at stake in the world- eternal issues?! The realization of this sin in my life- my constant selfishness and entitlement is what makes me excited about the journey in front of me.
Consecration precedes Conquest. I have about 7-8 weeks before I begin the conquest of The World Race. The conquest of impacting the world: 4 continents, 11 countries, countless people whom God loves just as much as He does me. I take this conquest seriously! I cried for a year about wanting to be a part of something bigger; something of greater significance than I had yet found. I needed my life to count for eternal things…and now’s my chance. Now is my chance to consecrate everything selfish within me and reach out. But it must begin with prayer. It must begin on my face before God, interceding for the countries to which we will go, crying out for me to be emptied of anything of myself and filled with Christ’s love and compassion. It’s not easy. I am a fallen man, full of sin and a mess…but I do know so deep down that the eternal ramifications of doing the hard things and stepping in to the kind of life that the Father is calling me to, is worth everything single thing that I have to give up along the way.
So, if you think about it…pray that I will pray. Pray that I will not neglect the pulling on my heart. Pray that I will not miss out on seeing the Lord lavish His people with blessing because in the moment I don’t yield to what is hard and uncomfortable. Just pray.
“These with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer…” Acts 1:14
