Let's have a heart-to-heart.
Look me in the eye and repeat this prayer after me:
"Jesus, rain on my parade.
Strip me down again.
So I'm desperate for You.
Jesus, whatever it takes
Bring me to my end.
So I'm desperate for You. Amen."
Did you repeat it?
Could you?
Did you really mean it?
I mean, really, really, really mean it?
Let's talk about this for a minute.
When was the last time you asked Jesus to rain on your parade? I mean really? When was the last time you asked Him to set for naught your plans? Turn your world upside down? Strip you of everything you love and hold dear? Bring you to the end of yourself?
When was the last time you told Jesus that He is the only thing that really matters - and meant it?
There's something about the great World Changers - the ones that really matter. They thrive in times of darkness and danger. Even during times when the end of the story can't seem happy, they keep going. Because in their heart, only one thing matters to them. And for that one thing, all else will be laid down; all else will be for naught; all else will be spurned for it's pursuit.
They are desperate for their cause.
I dare say that those who have the most positive and dynamic ability to change the world, are those who are most Desperate for Jesus.
Wait, let me clarify that: I should say, those who are most Desperate for Jesus, Above All Else...
Fellowship and intimacy with Jesus.
Passion and pursuit for Jesus.
These things are a True World Changer's chief end.
Not money. Not friendship. Not marriage. Not success. Not adventure. Not position. Not power. Not fame. Not fortune. Not comfort. Not ease. Not possessions. Not world domination. Not impact.
Not even World Changing.
For a World Changer, these important things from this life are either tools to be used in our pursuit of Jesus, or results of our pursuit of Jesus.
Such things can be tools that force us into challenges that draw us near to Jesus. Marriage. Friendships. Position. Adventures. World Changing.
Such things can be results of the energy and focus that have come as we have drawn near to Jesus. Fortune. Impact. World Domination. World Changing.
Is this your perspective about life?
Do you hold things loosely to say that you are Desperate for Jesus?
Alone?
"Jesus, rain on my parade.
Strip me down again.
So I'm desperate for You.
Jesus, whatever it takes
Bring me to my end.
So I'm desperate for You. Amen."
The tone of complete and reckless abandon is incredibly evident in this prayer. But is this the tone of the prayers you pray? Is this evident in your conversations with Jesus?
One week ago a dear friend sent this song to me. It shook me up. It scared me. I listened to it possibly two dozen times and am humbled to say that at first, I couldn't pray it. I truly wanted to pray it, and to mean it. But...
I was scared.
The challenge of this Desperate Prayer echoed in my mind day and night for a week. It challenged me as I fell asleep. It confronted me as I started my day. It mulled and processed, boiled and simmered in my spirit. It took a week before I finally realized:
If I am desperate for Jesus, everything else will naturally be held loosely.
For if Jesus is my only importance, I truly have nothing to lose.
If I lose fame, I don't loose my importance in His eyes.
If I lose money - no fear - He owns the treasures of heaven.
If I lose other friends, my Best Friend will never leave me.
If I lose business, He is my provider.
If I lose opportunities, He guides my path anyway.
If I lose position, I am more humbled before His sight.
If I lose ease of calling, He pulls me to Himself.
If we can be rooted, grounded, established, founded, and centered on Jesus, we can never lose our ability to change the world. So long as Jesus is changing us, our world is affected, is changed, is influenced also.
Isn't this the entire purpose of our lives?
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him..." Philippians 3: 7-9
[Dangerous Prayer is a song from Kathleen Carnali's album Dangerous Prayer]
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yes...i am amazed at how God uses His children to speak to others. GOd bless you and may HE give us more hunger for HIM.