A Different Prayer

No matter your Eschatological (End Times) view:
You most likely believe that Jesus is coming back someday.
The question is: Do you want Him to? Have you asked Him to?
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This past Saturday I attended the Simply Worship conference in Hopkinton, MA... put on by my friends from the Andy Needham Band (http://www.andyneedhamband.com) and Greenhouse ministries (http://www.wearegreenhouse.org). It's the second of their conferences I have been able to attend.

And each time, I walk away changed.
Really. They are better than Christmas Day!

As a worship leader, I love to sing. But to back off the microphone and listen to others sing to our great God is my favorite moment. My heart overflows with gratitude to see His people talking with Him and praising Him.

And in that moment, I can stop leading and do the same.

But something struck me during the middle of one of the worship gatherings at the conference:The last time I remember truly asking the Lord to come back was at the previous conference about one year before. And I do not mean in a, "Lord, I'm so sick of this world and weariness..." but a true, "Lord, I just want to finally meet You face to face.." kind of way. Tears streamed down my face off and on through out the worship times together.... some of it because sometimes I just take it for granted that the Sovereign Being in and of the Universe loves me... and sometimes, because I just wanted to be in His presence: forever.

So the question is this: why have I not wanted or prayed for Jesus to come back again? And again, not out of frustration or weariness (though those are not bad reasons in themselves) but out of pure love and readiness to see Jesus?

Well, I wish that my answer was spiritually uplifting... but unfortunately, I think the answer lies more within the desires of this world entering my spirit. The love of money, comparisons, distractions and sin, just to name a few.

I'm not proud of this. One bit.

In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning states, "One thing we do know: We don't comprehend the love of Jesus Christ... Calvary cries out more clearly than any theology textbook we do not know our God. We have not grasped the truth in the First Letter of John: 'In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us...'

I remember in college telling a friend, "I wish I loved Jesus more." His response? "So ask for more love for Him: I started praying that... and He keeps answering!"

So I challenge you as I begin to challenge myself:
Let us pray a different prayer: let us pray to see Him, and soon... for Him to open our hearts to loving Him more- the way He should be. As a bride and bridegroom are filled with longing to finally catch a mere glimpse of each other on their wedding day: let us pray to be filled with such love and gratefulness that we can not help but pray to see Him-- and soon. 

And in the meantime, let us do as the angel told the Apostle John while he wrote the book of Revelation (22:9):

Worship God.