Magengill’s Blog

Lately I have been studying the passion of the Cross and it has been so eye opening.  There are so many things I would like to say about the Cross, but instead, I’ll just tell you what was revealed to me about the heart of Jesus.  It is very hard to put into words what the Lord has shown me, but please try to keep up.

It all started as I was reading through John 13-17.  This all takes place right before Jesus heads to the Cross.   In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples feet.  Not only does he was the disciples feet, an act of great humility, he washed Judas’ feet, the very man that was about to betray him. 

There is no quick way to summarize John 14-17, but what struck me about the passage is the way Jesus comforted his disciples.  As I just mentioned, this takes place right before he goes to the Cross.  Hours before our Beloved one is crucified, instead of thinking of himself, he is speaking comfort to his disciples.  He tells them about the Holy Spirit who will comfort them and he even reminds them he is returning.  What kind of God do we serve?  Our God is the one who is comforting his loved ones even though he was about to endure great pain, rejection, abandonment from God, insults, and even death.  Oh, I cannot tell you how this moves my heart.

Okay, this part is the hard part to explain.  So, our own rebellion and sin is the reason that Jesus died on the Cross.  He experienced the wrath of God so that our sins would be forgiven.  And, most of our own heart ache and pain comes from living in a fallen world and comes from our own rebellion toward God.  The pain we experience is because of our own hatred toward God before we accept him.  This is what gets me, Jesus is the one that heals our heart ache and pain.  He leads us by still waters to restore our souls (Psalm 23:2-3).  He heals the heart ache that comes from our own rebellion which put him on the Cross.  How amazing is that?  Jesus experienced the pain of the fallen world and instead of being bitter, he reacts with great tenderness.  He touches area of pain and brings healing, even though the events that cause our own pain are what put him on the Cross.  Once again, who is this God that we serve!

Lately I have been reading through the gospels, more specifically on the Cross.  While reading the life of Jesus, I was struck by the necessity of prayer.  It was as simple as, Jesus prayed so why in the world would any Christian not think it was necessary.  “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed…(Matthew 26:39)”, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed (Luke 1:35)”, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5:16).”  And there are obviously many many more examples of Jesus praying.  If Jesus being fully God and fully Man prayed, why do we think we are able prayer?

Steven Venable states it like this, “To say that you’re not into the whole prayer thing is to say that you are not into being human."  What he means by that is, we are the only beings in created order that is allowed to ask things from God.  Nothing else is able to do that, from the angels, to the birds of the air, to the beasts on the earth, to the fish in the sea.  I  mean, we are allowed to ASK God to do things for us, to move on our behalf, to teach us love, etc.  It is the glory of humans to be able to communicate with Yaweh, the very God who created the heavens and the earth, who hung the earth on nothing.

Seeing the glory of prayer makes is a honor instead of a chore.  But, even though it is an honor, I understand it is difficult.  It is humbling to have to depend completely on God, it goes against every fiber of our pride.  Prayer can be boring and mundane at times, I would know since I spend at least 4 hours a night in the prayer room.  But, it can be exhilarating.  The best nights in prayer are when I actually am able to have a conversation with God.  The times when everyone else in the prayer room disappears and I’m alone with my Creator.  It’s amazing when I hear his voice so clearly, when I’m afraid to move in fear of ruining such a perfect moment with the one I love.  Nights like that make the boring nights doable.

Here are a few tips for your own prayer life.  The first would be actually praying the scripture.  That in itself gives you a lot to keep you occupied during your prayer time.  It also opens up the Word to you.  An example of how to do that would be this.  Take John 15:13  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You would turn that scripture into a prayer by saying, “Jesus, I thank you for the truth that there is no greater love than someone who would lay down their life for another.  I love you for laying down your life for me.”  There are some scriptures that would be difficult to pray, but just read through some and just try them.  Doing this opens up your sprit to the Holy Spirit and you are able to talk to God about God.  What better way to get to know God than to talk to Him about Himself.

Mike Bickle also has some amazing notes on prayer.  He goes through and acronym FELLOWSHIP and gives you 10 quick prayers to pray daily.  On this link, you will find his notes.  It is under the February 2009 notes.  The title is Ten Prayers to Strengthen Our Inner Man F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P.

http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000036428

Last weekend (June 5-7) I took a trip to Wisconsin with one of my good friends Sharon.  The weekend was amazing.  It was good to get away for a weekend and I know we both came back refreshed.  It was amazing to see how in a few days we were able to come back with peace, ready to face the battles ahead!

I am amazing to see how quickly the vision fro 24/7 prayer is moving.  My friend Tabithah, who did Fire In The Night with Sharon and I, started the Prayer House of Wisconsin (PHOW) immediately when she returned from the 6 month internship at IHOP.  Right now they are only open certain hours during the week and they have a Moving 24 Forward once every month when keep the prayer room open for 24 hours!  To see someone so young heading up a prayer movement in her home town in inspiring.  Please pray for that prayer room.  They need singers, musicians, prayer warriors, income, etc.

PHOW has been open for about 6 months.  Tabithah asked Sharon and I to go to Viroqua, WI to visit the prayer room.  We pretty much spend all day Saturday in the prayer room off and on.  The presence of God was so sweet.  It reminded me of Psalm 23, the Lord is our shepherd and he leads us by still waters to restore our soul.  And in Matthew 11 when Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden in light.  I kept feeling the Holy Spirit tell me how he loves the simple devotion of his children.  It is so easy to get caught up in philosophy and introspection that we forget the heart of the matter, we are to simply love God.  It reminded me of how easy it should be to love God. 

And to finish of the week we were able to prayer and prophesy over each other.  I stand back in awe of the women who God has placed in my life.  When Sharon prophesies the atmosphere in the room truly changes.  It’s as if for a moment you are allowed to see into the heart of God.  Her devotion to God has been inspiring and it has challenged me to give everything to God, even when it’s difficult.  And Tabithah’s integrity is outstanding.  As I read about Tabithah in Acts 9:36 being full of good works and charitable deeds, I look at my friend and know she fills that role well.  I have seen someone so willing to serve and to give of herself.  The truth is, God’s love continually pours out, even to the point of death, and I see Tabithah continually pouring out.  Lord, thank you so much my wonderful friends!

I do have to say this weekend was a success.  We were able to encourage Tabithah and we both came back refreshed!!!  Thank you Jesus!