June 9, 2010
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Learning to be a Good Host…
I’ve read and heard recently that three men who God has used to bring great revival in the past few decades (Derek Prince and Bill Johnson being two of them) spend about 80-90% of their time in prayer worshiping God. So for every ten minutes of prayer, about eight of those minutes are praising, thanking, and reflecting on God. Their mindset is that once you’re in the presence of God, petition flows much easier and faith is much higher. Rather than pushing through a laundry list of needs every prayer time, they instead choose to worship and let His presence invade. In a love relationship, what percent of conversation is petition anyway? Don’t get me wrong, it is important, but if it dominates the conversation then the relationship probably isn’t healthy.
Psalm 22:3 (KJV) says God “inhabits the praises” of His people. Other precise translations like the NASB and ESV say God is “enthroned upon the praises” of His people.
“Revival is all about an invasion of the presence of God, when He is enthroned in our lives. God’s presence is stewarded best when we have a heart for worship. Everything that we do for Him is to be an overflow of our relationship with Him. Anything can happen when God is welcomed. We are called to host His presence. A good host will not neglect a guest. A guest only stays however long he or she is honored. If the guest is ignored then the guest will feel prompted to leave” (part of a Bill Johnson interview on the Jesus Culture’s Consumed CD).
I’m continuing to learn how to be a better host for His presence… to be prepared and make His presence welcome, to acknowledge Him and declare His character, to thank Him, listen to Him, and be expectant. His love is better than life and I want more of Him!
God is continuing to bring shifts in my walk with Him. He is good!
