ADVANCE: A Revival DevotionalSample

Advance In Prayer

In the beautiful words Ramana Maharshi: “When you pray for God’s grace, you are like someone standing neck-deep in water and yet crying for water. It is like saying that someone neck-deep in water feels thirsty, or that a fish in water feels thirsty, or that water feels thirsty.”

These words remind us that God’s grace is the most readily available thing in this world and prayer is the most readily available tool for us to use in the natural world.

Prayer connects us to the vastness and greatness of God and to the depths and heights of the world. When we don’t pray, we live strictly in the horizontal realm of what we naturally see but when we do pray, we come into contact with the vertical; the supernatural world. Our horizontal practical world finds meaning, value, and completion in the mysteries and depths of the vertical world. And at the crosshairs of the two, God’s intervention is found. We lay down our intellect and self-reliance in exchange for God’s limitless grace.

In Joshua 10:12-14, Joshua prays an outrageous prayer in the middle of a battle asking God to stop the sun. In the face of danger and potential tragedy, Joshua, with a strong sense of great need, resorts to prayer as an expression of his soul. He asks God to intervene in the midst of his natural circumstances.

If you are going to advance in this journey of faith, you will need to advance in prayer. God in his might breaks through the limitations of our narrowly circumscribed world and is able to do wonders beyond our imagination. The fact is that God, in His grace, acknowledges our prayer is a wonder in and of itself.

Action Questions:

How can you make more time in your day to pray to God?

What do you pray to God about?

Prayer: "Dear God, help me in my time of need. Help me Holy Spirit to have a lifestyle of prayer and thanksgiving always. I acknowledge the mysteries of your grace and ask for your continual help. I pray these words in Christ’s name. Amen."