Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit

I am in North Carolina on a business trip. I drove from Nashville where I dropped off my wife and kids out here today. 8 hours in a car by yourself is a long time when you are an extrovert like I am. I did have the audio book of Watchman Nee's, "The Normal Christian Life" which I listened to and very challenged by. Brother Nee asked as his treatise in one section, "What is holding you back from more fullness in Christ?"

I spent a few hours at the office and was then left to go be by myself till tomorrow morning. I prayed and asked the Lord where his church would be gathered tonight, and he led me to the Zadok House of Prayer. It was a strange experience for me, being led there by the Lord. Within the first 30 minutes of being there, I was quite convinced I had misheard the Spirit's leading. I don't mean that to say, that I thought it was not the church, but instead, I did not see what it would produce in me.

As I arrived and walked through the door the director was preaching, I stood in the back for a few minutes hoping to be greeted. I wanted to make a human connection. As is the problem I so often find entering meetings of Christian's is I was unnoticed and left to fend for myself in this entirely foreign environment. I found a seat to listen.

The topic of the evening was being a forerunner to the prophecy's of the end time. I must confess that the revelation of God about the end times that I have received, has little in common with a major school of thought in eschatology, and so I thought it was an odd fit, but still I felt that God had a message for me.

After the preaching had concluded, the meeting broke up for a few minutes before the next period of worship and intercession began. In this time, I continued to sit in my chair, and was still ungreeted. At this point I am wondering, "Why God have you led me here to leave me unmet?"

As the worship and intercession began, the session leader announced that this segment would be to interceded for the nation because of our president and his culture of death. I rolled my eyes, and pondered between joining the intercession, which I was opposed to topic or leaving.

• On a side note, I am fiercely pro-life, however I believe that battle needs to be fought in the hearts and minds of girls, and in the priorities and habits of the church to provide care and structure to those girls whose hearts and minds are changed. The repeal of Roe V Wade with out a church ready to receive her commission to the brokenness that leads to this epidemic would only be more destructive.

As I sat, I decided the Lord had led me here, and better to be in the presence of praise that alone in a hotel room, so I stayed. I stayed, and I interceded not for the politicians or the babies, as there were plenty in attendance ready to intercede on those behalfs. I interceded on behalf of the mothers. Those precious daughters of God who are forced to choose the horror because the oppression in their life has led them to feel there is no other option.

Here is the prayer I typed into my phone and then read back to the Lord as we worshiped:

May we be you body so the mother sees she has value as more than an object

May we be your body so the mother can receive love so she can then act in love

May we renounce our participation in this culture of death by repenting of the attitude that children are ordained by any other than you.

May we renounce our greed that causes us to buy more for ourselves rather than to supply to those who feel they have no life to give

May we have an ethic of life that takes In the rejected of this world so mothers may know there is a place she and her child will never be rejected

May we care not only for unborn, but for those born into captivity, oppression, and poverty in our country and in our world.

Cut off your church's leg so that she will crawl back to you rather than walk past the pain that leads to this decision.

Cut off your church's hands that she will steal no more of the gifts you have blessed her with from being given to meet these needs.

Redeem FIRST your Church to life, to life, to life. So that she may have LIFE to give to those whose hope is only to take life.

So after about an hour and half the session transferred form intercession to a period of just worship. I used this time to inquire of God. I asked God the question from Brother Nee, "Tell me Lord what is holding me back from more fullness with you?" As I prayed it one of the band members said, "This is a word of Lord for the long haired guy in the black shirt." I looked up from my prayer and looked at her. She sang, "Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit" Over and over again, in the VERY MINUTE I ASKED, the Lord gave me this answer.

I left a few minutes after the worship session, still having not be welcomed, greeted, or met by the church assembled there. Yet, I know it was the church God called me to this night, because God met me through the work of the church, and the word given to the musician. I was in God's perfect timing, met by God to meet my greatest need.

I need more Christ! I will get him, "Not By Strength or By Power, but by my Spirit!"