A Deeper Relationship

Lord knows I ain’t try’na confess no sickness……..but my back and neck hurt. Its hard to tell if its sinus stuff or just plain ole body ache from serving God. I mean, I literally praised God last night in church until I had a black and blue knot on my knee when I got home. Don’t know if it was from kneeling on my knees in prayer or if it was after my pastor laid hands on me from behind that I fell under the anointing. All I know is that I hurt today. So much so that I couldn’t go to work.

Ok, so I had been thinking about something for the last few days and am now just beginning to write about it; you know…..release. Ok, so I think I finally figured something out about church folk. Call me slow, but I’m just able to get the revelation. It’s the difference between quantity and quality Christians. I think in the last few years we’ve identified the dividing line in Christianity between those who have religion and those who have relationship. Of course, relationship is what we really need. Back in the Bible days they called religious people Pharisees. But now that the church realizes we need relationship over religion we still have to dig a little deeper because there are those who measure their relationships in terms of quantity and those who really seek a quality relationship with the Lord. There are two types of Christians. And one of us is in trouble----as T.D. Jakes would say.

Ok, so I have this sister-in-Christ who I firmly believe loves the Lord, but I think there is a battle in her to be validated or recognized as a true Christian; a true example of a Christian. And I say this because…….well, the Bible says that we are judged by the fruits we bear. But instead of allowing the Lord to break her so that He can work fully in her---you know really showing the character of God and not a super Christian---she boasts about her interactions with God. Ok, I don’t know how to put it in words. Basically, she shines her light instead of letting her light shine. These type of people come off very cocky and arrogant, and not having the true nature of God upon their lives. And I firmly believe that the best witness we can have is by allowing God to work through us, not us working Him in us according to our selfishness. In other words, a lot of us can see straight through her.

For instance, she’ll say stuff like…….. “I have been praying before the Lord for eight hours straight.” Or, “I fast every Tuesday from 6:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.” Or, my favorite……. “For the last month I have been praying from midnight to 3:00 a.m.” Nothing at all wrong with this because when you come to the point where you can sustain physically and Spiritually for that long in your pursuit with God, it can be a little boastful. I’ve been there. I remember when I did my first all-nighter; 24 hours to be exact. I was hyped. I even blogged about it. The flesh gives you some golden bragging rights. But then I felt stupid. Cause c’mon……this is your intimacy with God. I mean, to me its already a little weird sharing your personal time in a boastful way, but then to put a clock on it……well, I have my thoughts about this. That’s like me saying to whoever……… “me and my husband make love every Friday morning for two hours straight.” I don’t know what’s worse…….me boasting about it to everyone or me having a clock on it. It really makes one wonder………how much of a quality relationship do they have if its confined?

Soooo……….I’ve noticed that there are a lot of Christians who measure their relationships in terms of quantity. If its not how much time they spend with the Lord, its how long they stay in church on Sunday. Or how many days per week they are in church. And then the new thing……how much money they gave. And the church supports this. A few years back, somebody told me that their pastor posts the non-tithers in the church bulletin, and how much others give in offerings (very blank stare). I mean, why???????

You know what I’ve learned over the last few days…….that God is not bound by time or money. God is timeless and priceless!!! Meaning, I can pray for seven minutes (or however long cause I don’t time it) and get a prayer through before somebody who have been praying for seven hours. Not comparing, but my point is that God doesn’t have a clock sitting beside Him on the throne saying, “Jill you have to pray 30 more seconds before I hear you and grant your desire.” But I think that’s what we are getting caught up in.

Ok, let me give it to you straight. What matters in prayer and fasting is that you get a breakthrough!!! I mean, the discipline and all is nice, but the bottomline is……did God hear me. And you’ll know when you get it. I was in prayer today and like all of my prayer time it starts off a little routine with thanking Him and the normal….. “please bless my family, my home, my finances, etc.” But when I present the thing that is really on my heart like asking the Lord to forgive me for something I did or said over the weekend I pray hard, most times in tongues, until I get that breakthrough. Or I can just be in prayer worshiping God, not asking for nothing just thanking Him for His goodness. And I’ll get my breakthrough. And I know when I get it because I start crying and it is like I’m releasing everything over to Him and He’s taking it from me. And then I feel light. And at peace. And secure. And that may happen on a Friday night, Monday morning, at lunch time, or whenever. I’m not keeping tabs. And I’m surely not counting.

[The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). --Ephesians 3:10-12