Before Christ was taken up to Heaven in Acts
1 He spent some time talking to His followers. The Bible says, “He commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,” (vs.4). Then in Acts 2, it was as the disciples were gathered
together waiting on the Lord that His Holy Spirit was poured out on them and filled them with great power. This is a precedent
that believers must follow in all ages.
In her book The Happy Intercessor Beni Johnson talks about how her church in California experienced a wave of God's renewing Spirit
in the 1990's. She admits though that her own prayer life and the prayer ministries of her church were basically non-existent
prior to the outpouring that hit the congregation. The people there had not understood how to rest in God's presence, and
therefore they had no joy in laboring for His Kingdom. Like the early Church, they needed to just take time to be refreshed
by God before they would be able to start doing a lot of godly activity.
Even the natural realm
portrays this simple principle. In order to be strong and alert at work each day our bodies must get plenty of sleep in the
night. We have to calm down before we can become fully re-energized. Our efforts to accomplish things in life will always
be hindered in some measure if we are not taking the time we need to relax and rejuvenate.
Some Christians
have this idea that before revival can come to a city they must expend a great deal of effort by doing spiritual warfare over
it and striving to evangelize the peoples' hearts. While these practices should certainly be a regular part of our lives,
they will always be more fruitful after God's glory hits an area than before
it does. 1 John 4:19 reminds us, “We love because He first loved us.” We must take time to soak in intimacy with
our Beloved before we can try to see His love poured out through us to our friends.
The wisest
man in history wrote, “One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind,”
(Eccl. 4:6). Our priority is clear here. If we are not waiting on God with patience and trust, just letting Him fill us up
with His goodness, we cannot expect to get a lot done. Stopping and just spending time with our Daddy comes before we do anything
on His behalf.
People often get so caught up in religious
disciplines and church activities that they forget to keep enough oil in their lamps for them to burn brightly (see Matt.
25). We may even be the most prayerful and faithful students of the Word, yet be driven by a motivation to please God rather
than enjoy Him. As a result, all of our attempts to minister to others will have limited results. Our lifestyle will simply
not be appealing to them. We will not be operating in grace, but working under pressure.
Our Messiah promises us, “Come to Me,
all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matt. 11:28). This is a guarantee. Corporately and individually,
let us come in faith and sit before His throne. He will surely bless us in that place.
