As we approach our one year anniversary in the Grand Horizon Center, everyone here at Voice Ministries is pausing to celebrate and consider how much we have accomplished in the past year.  I was pulling together statistics and information for this celebration and some thoughts came to me I want to share…

God places value differently than we do.  The kingdom of heaven does not measure success the way the kingdoms of earth do.  A couple could be married for 50 years, but if they didn’t have love, they didn’t have anything.  Another couple could be married for 2 minutes, but if they had love, they had two moments of a substance God calls “the greatest thing of all.”  It is this mysterious thing called “love” that He wants.  

It is the same with our worship and our intercession.  The greatest intercession of all is when our hearts, our emotions, our passion is mixed in the alchemy of it.  We long, we fever, we search, we challenge, we debate our case – we don’t give God rest – we remind Him of his dream in this earth and want it as badly as He does.  Our brokenhearted-ness over the state of the earth, how personal we take the suffering of the earth: this moves the heart of God.  It is real, genuine, and from our core.

The greatest worship is often the worship mixed with our pain, our humblest offering of question, searching, promises, vows, fears, our pressing through until we have completely said “yes” in surrender because we caught sight of His glory during our weakness.  Our choice to love Him, to believe in His love, to be crucified with Him, to not quit no matter the difficulty because we see He is worth it, He is beautiful, He is God…  This is the worshipper whose worship He delights in and will kiss with His presence, visit with His power, and open the heavens above as they sing their heart-truth. 

As we sow to the heavens with this, He will sow to the earth. How could he resist us? He would rather have 2 minutes of this kind of humble passion and sweet faithfulness than 50 years of non-stop worship/prayer.

The truth is, we could have 24/7 coverage, but if our worship is not given with love from a burning heart, then to God’s nostrils it was just empty works and a foul stench.  Oh, to hear the sound of the burning heart raised in song and prayer, praying His dreams, singing our love – that is the sound God loves and that’s what He has been listening for from us in the past year. 

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves soul-searching questions.  In the past year, have I complained because I felt our IHOP wasn’t being successful?  Did I complain after a handful of people have put out a tremendous amount of work to produce growth?  Was I ever offended because it was not being built or handled the way I thought it should be or with me in mind?  At the same time, have I driven for some way to validate our House of Prayer? Have my efforts ever been about proving that our House of Prayer really is doing something, we really are growing, and the train really is moving?

…While God humbly sits waiting…  His eyes searching…  His heart so faithful, so eager, so beautiful…  He never gives up hope.  Never gives up hope that we will just begin to give Him love.   He longs for one moment of connection with us in our worship and prayer.  Our prayer room should be filled with the chemistry of the most powerful relationship there is – between God and man.  Lightning happens, electricity sizzles when the heart of man has connected with the heart of God…  that’s what He’s waiting for…

Yes, let’s take a moment to truly celebrate how far we’ve come, that we are making progress, let’s honor those who have been faithful, but let’s also remember to move forward into the new year valuing what’s most important – one genuine moment connected to the heart of God.  That is how we truly mark our progress and measure our success.