Covenant House

Rev_Deb · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 150

How Desperate Are You?

I am no expert on prayer. You will not hear prayers with flowery words coming out of my mouth. Well rehearsed prayers are not me. I have tried them and they do not work for me. God is not interested in prayers of perfection. God is interested in a heart that is desperate for Him. It is a heart that has no dignity before the Lord. A heart that is not afraid to call out Daddy. A heart that is humble before him. A heart that knows I am nothing without God. A heart that is not full of pride.

How do we get there? You can not achieve this kind of desperation unless you are willing to give up all control and surrender to the Father. We have to let go of all pride. I am not saying you lose confidence. I am saying you gain confidence in knowing who you are in Christ. We need to come to the realization that we would be lost if it were not for the love of God and the blood of His Son.

Being desperate for God requires no shame. It requires losing all dignity. It requires not listening to the sneers and comments of others. It requires being persistent when others are telling you to give up. It requires not giving up no matter who or what gets in your way.

She sat by the roadside suffering in agony, all hope was gone. We do not know her name only that she had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. She had been to many doctors spending everything she had. No cure was found. All hope was gone. She was desperate. Sitting by the roadside she heard Jesus was passing by. This man had performed many healings. Hope returned to her. She knew Jesus could help her. If she could just touch His garment she knew she would be healed. Too weak to stand she crawled through the large crowd that surrounded Jesus stretched out a hand and touched the hem of His robe. Instantly she was healed.

Jesus knew someone had touched Him. He had felt the healing power go out of him. Questioning who touched Him, Peter replied; anyone could have brushed up against You, but Jesus knew the person who touched Him had a purpose. The woman now healed fell to her knees trembling before Jesus. She explained why she touched Him. I can see the twinkle in Jesus’ eye, the smile on His face, and His love for her. Her faith in Jesus had healed her. She did not let the crowds stop her. She persisted forward. She was desperate.

All through the New Testament Jesus responded to pleas of desperation.

The blind beggar Bartamaeus heard Jesus was passing by and called out. The crowds told him to be quiet but he continued calling out to Jesus. Bartimaues not only continued to call out to Jesus but the more the crowd tried to hush him the louder he got until finally he got Jesus attention. When Jesus called him forward he threw aside his coat, jumped up and went to Jesus. I believe Jesus heard Bartimaues the first time, but Jesus wanted to see how desperate Bartimaues was. I believe if Bartimaues stopped calling out to Jesus he would have remained blind missing his healing.

I could go on forever about the miracles of Jesus as He responded to pleas of desperation in the New Testament, but what about the Old Testament? Did God respond to pleas of desperation then?

In Isaiah 38:1-5 Hezekiah became deathly ill and was told by the prophet Isaiah to set his affairs in order for this illness was to end in death. Immediately Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall prayed and wept before the Lord.

Isaiah was sent back to Hezekiah saying “the Lord has heard your prayers and has seen your tears and will add fifteen years to your life.”

Moses in Exodus 33: 18-23 was so desperate for a glimpse of God that God placed Moses in a cleft of a rock covered Moses with His hand as He passed by. Moses only saw the back of God for no man could see God’s face and live.

Countless times God responded to pleads of desperation. It is in our desperation that we find God. Would it not be easier to stay in an attitude of desperation?

God loves when we are desperate for Him and can not help but bless us when our hearts are pure before Him. Let us then seek His Face and fall to our knees repenting of our sins. Are you looking for a move of God? Then get desperate. Call out to God in desperation and do not give up no matter what, and He will answer you.

Lord I am desperate for You. I realize I can do nothing apart from You. Come and fill me with Your presence. Teach me to call out to You night and day never ceasing. It is in Your presence that I find peace. Help me to be desperate for You.

Deborah Gallant
Copyright © 2003 Deborah Gallant
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God bless
Deb
People do not care what you know till they know how much you care.
The harvest is ready, pray for more labourers’ in the fields.
http://www.jcfaith.com/Rev_Deborah
http://www.myspace.com/thelivingtruthworldwide

PastorTerry · Site Admin Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 232

It rather reminds me of a song I have on one of my CDs. Written by Michael W. Smith ( I think), its done up nicely by Rebecca St. James. Here's a copy of the words to the song I have in mind that somewhat reflects the sentiment of your message -

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you

And I, I'm desperate for you,
And I, I'm lost without you,

I'm lost without you,

I'm so lost without you.

I'm so lost without you.

I'm so lost without you,

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm lost without you.

And indeed.....given my current situation & all, I am extremely desperate for Him, and yes....I too am also lost without Him. Amazing what a situation will drive an individual or a couple, or a group of people to do even. In my case, it caused me to revamp a lost & much needed prayer life. I now spend 30 minutes, sometimes well over an hour even, in solid prayer. But nothing less than a half hour. If I am doing deliveries for the company I work for, I have even started using that as a prayer time to talk to God, and that quite openly, unashamedly out loud....just as if I were having a wee chat with someone sitting over in the passenger side of the truck. Best passenger that I have is my precious Lord & Saviour. Then at days end, when I arrive home, I spend yet another half hour (or more) in prayer. Yeah, I'm desperate for Him alright! Now more than ever, and into whatever the future brings, I am happy to see this change occur in my life, and that all for the better. Smile

fireball preacher · Joined: 01 Mar 2007 Posts: 495 Location: Georgia

good message
_________________
Called to His Service,
Dr Duane Conrad
Associate Pastor CCF

fireball preacher · Joined: 01 Mar 2007 Posts: 495 Location: Georgia

Remember when it came to the long prayers of the Priests when Jesus walked the earth he said "they love to stand on the street corners and in the synagouges and make long prayers so that they are heard of men,Yea I say unto you they have their reward, but pray to God in secret for God who sees you in secret will reward you openly

In short awesome message
_________________
Called to His Service,
Dr Duane Conrad
Associate Pastor CCF