Prayer on Fire #1 of 3 (3)

In one paragraph

Pastor Don Young of the College of Prayer International came to First Baptist Jackson for a Prayer on Fire weekend, opening with a time of worship led by Amy Lutz. His message centered on what he called the single foundation beneath everything else the church does: genuine hunger for God himself, not merely for what God can give. That hunger, he argued, is what makes prayer the primary work of the...

Read together

1. Romans 11:36 quoted to show that everything originates from God, lives through Him, and returns to Him, supporting the idea that worship starts with God
2. Matthew 5:6 quoted to teach that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled to overflowing
3. Isaiah 55 read at length to paint a picture of God inviting the hungry and thirsty to come closer and receive freely what money cannot buy
4. Psalm 42:1 quoted to illustrate the soul's longing for God as a deer pants for water
5. Psalm 63 referenced alongside Psalm 42 to describe earnestly seeking God in a dry and weary land
6. 1 Peter 2:2 quoted to call for an intense craving for pure spiritual milk so that believers may grow
7. Exodus 24:17 cited as a biblical term for God's manifest presence described as consuming fire
8. Exodus 33:18 cited as a reference to the glory of God as a term for His manifest presence
9. Psalm 85:6 cited as a reference to revival as a term for God's manifest presence
10. Isaiah 61 cited as a reference to anointing as a term for God's manifest presence
11. Acts 1:3 cited as a reference to the Holy Spirit as a term for God's manifest presence
12. Exodus 33:14 cited as the passage containing the word presence referring to God's manifest presence
13. Exodus 33:16 cited as the verse showing that God's manifest presence distinguishes His people from all others on earth
14. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 quoted as a warning not to put out the Spirit's fire
15. Revelation 1:12-20 referenced to describe Jesus with hair white as wool, eyes like flames of fire, face shining like the sun, walking among flaming torches
16. Luke 11 referenced as the passage where Jesus gave the Lord's Prayer and showed his disciples how to pray

Talk about it

1. Amy shared a quote from A.W. Tozer that worship starts with God, not with us, and that it 'pierces the heart of man and then returns to the God who started it all.' What difference does it make to your own worship when you think of it as a response to what God has already started rather than something you initiate?
2. Pastor Don said that most churches pray, but that praying is not the same as being a house of prayer for all nations. What do you think the difference looks like in practice, and where do you see that gap in your own spiritual life?
3. Pastor Don described Chinese pastors who said 'you can only grow in prison with what you take into prison,' and who asked to be prepared for the next wave of persecution. What did hearing that stir up in you about your own hunger for God?
4. Pastor Don drew a distinction between hunger for something from God and hunger for God himself, and said only God can activate that deeper hunger. Have you experienced that difference, and what has it looked like in your life?
5. The session compared the omnipresence of God with the manifest presence of God, and Pastor Don said the manifest presence is what distinguishes the people of God from all others. What would it look like for this church to stop being satisfied with God's omnipresence and to actively seek his manifest presence together?