The Ministry of Intercession - Day 19 - Pray for the Holy Spirit on Christianity

Lukewarm coffee, a pot of spaghetti sauce that has been standing on the table too long, ice cream that has reached living room temperature. 

Neither of the things are that desirable. If they were cold they could be heated up and eaten (in the case of the ice cream it is best cold). But when they are lukewarm they loose their appeal and instead gain the conditions for growing all kind of undesirable cultures and it spoils. It not only spoils itself but also if mixed with other food of the same kind it will spoil them and it will give it all a bad rep. Some of the harshest words Jesus speaks in Revelations are to lukewarm churches. 

Few thing is a refreshing and life-giving as a christian on fire for God and who brings God's presence and power near to the people they're around. Whether it be in word, healing or encouragement. 

But few things are a un-appealing as a lukewarm christian by name only. They call themselves christians but their action does not meet the title they claim. They say they're one with The Living God, and yet they do the deeds of darkness and spread word of death and nothing-ness. Most of the lukewarm christians spreads exactly that. Nothing-ness. They're just there. We are just here. We don't do what we've been called to. We keep quiet when people in danger or need are not defended or helped. We don't offer our help or God's power to come down by praying for it to come. Not that Christianity is 'just' social justice. It is also social justice. And it is much more. It is talk about sin. It is talk about forgiveness. It is talk about eternal life. It is talk about redemption. And it is yet more. It is walking away from sin. It is forgiving others like we have been forgiven. It is living the eternal life now we've been given. It is redeeming the people God is calling us to redeem. 

How to pray.

Andrew Murray calls us to pray in deep stillness. Go before God and be quite in His presence. Let nothing else but God be with us and in us. Let His presence fill us and influence us so that all lukewarm-ness gets pointed out and cleaned out. The more we are in His presence the more important we see it is to follow Him. God is to be found in stillness. Not a lot of words or noise. But in the stillness. Pray for the stillness and seek the stillness with God. Ask for the Holy Spirit to convict you and to warm you up. 

Pray also for the church, it's leaders and followers, to be filled anew with His presence. Pray for the Holy Spirit to come near and convict them and warm them up - put them on fire for God's glory!