“God is after us,” I thought as I walked to my room the other night. I have been serving at YWAM Guadalajara for a little over a week now. This base is a bee-hive. They are excellent at connecting and networking, and host many conferences. Their facilities are really quite amazing. Last weekend they ran a weekend retreat for teenagers. On the schedule was a parents retreat this weekend, and a international conference for all of next week.
Interesting, I thought. Personally I have been in a season of God stripping away things. Somehow in the busyness of serving God, parts of my identity began to rest in what I was doing and not my Creator. The process of refining has been hot and uncomfortably at times. Nonetheless, I see the worth in it, that I may learn to be content in any and every circumstance, just as Paul did.
As I have had the privilege of traveling this year, I am seeing a pattern of God doing this in His Body. He’s taking from us the things we are able to do apart from him. Yesterday morning, I had a conversation about our identity resting in what we do, then I stepped into a prayer meeting. This very thing came up. Base leaders here confessed their adequacies in getting things done, and lack of taking the time to worship and prayer. I didn’t say a word. Later that day, as we scrubbed floors preparing for next week, word came saying that the speaker for the conference canceled. Stripped once again.
In much wisdom the base leaders decided to have a prayer/worship time last night. I felt so touched by the Spirit as I watched cries go up for revival in Mexico as the day turned to night. Desperation. It wasn’t too different from every night of last year, as I would look around the room on the corner of 2nd and Pennsylvania Ave. in DC to see my friends/teammates going before the King on behalf of our nation. A little Mexican Rumble*, I guess?
In the afternoon, I had a great conversation with a girl here. When she left the room I thought maybe we should try and do 24/7 prayer this weekend? I mentioned it to her. She got excited. Then this morning at the prayer meeting, another girl with no knowledge of our conversation suggested it. They’ve never done this sort of thing here before!
They have a great prayer room that sits untouched. I have a feeling soon the walls with echo with the prayers of His Saints! He is after us, pursuing us. He’s removing the things that hinder us from him, even the “good” things. We have a jealous lover.
*Rumble- what we called our nightly corporate prayer meetings in DC
mrsannamaher.com 