Burning Before His Throne

Will LaPointe sent this brief article from the Elijah List website to be shared with all of you through our Firelight blog site. It tracks very closely to one of the things we prayed about at our last gathering. Wonderful! Thanks, Will! :

September 30, 2007

Bob Sorge:

"BURNING BEFORE HIS THRONE MEANS STANDING IN THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE"

"His 'consuming fire' will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself."

My prayer life was transformed when I discovered that prayer is the glorious adventure of an unfolding, growing, reciprocating relationship with the living God of the universe. Nothing excels the glory of burning with holy longing before a burning God who blazes with fiery passions for weak but lovesick worshipers.

I didn't stumble or wander accidentally into this discovery; it was a divine set-up. I was ambushed. In my case, a personal trial has been used by God to totally rewrite my spiritual DNA, redirect the course of my life, and bring me to the threshold of a relationship that I always longed for but didn't know how to find. The calamity made me absolutely desperate for God. I began to scour God's Word like a starving man trying to stay alive. It wasn't the fiery trial that changed me; it was the desperate pursuit of God in the trial that changed me.

There are two Scriptures that define my place before God in my present season. The first is Deuteronomy 10:8, "At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day." I now see my primary calling as being that of standing before God and ministering to Him. No great agenda, no mighty ambitions, no rush to move on to the next thing. I just stand before Him and love Him.

The second Scripture is Revelation 4:5, "Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." When I saw the phrase, "burning before the throne," my heart cried out, "Lord, I want those same words to characterize my life. I too want to stand before You and burn before Your throne!"

I have discovered who I am. I am a holy one (not because of who I am, but because of where I am) who stands before the throne of The Holy One, gazes upon His beauty and majesty, the fire that flows from His throne (see Daniel 7:10) flowing into my heart, setting me ablaze with the same fiery passions that kindle God's heart, and now my love flows back to Him like a volcanic eruption as my heart responds to the love He is now igniting in my heart (see Romans 5:5).

I will burn before Him for eternity. I will always stand here. By His grace, I shall never be moved. May nothing of this world or of hell's assault ever deter me from this holy stand before His throne. I've tasted of the ultimate privilege of burning before His throne, and I'm ruined for anything less.

Simply Stand

There are seasons when God calls us to simply stand. We might prefer the adrenalin of chasing down a great cause, but sometimes God calls us to stop all activity and just stand. Sometimes He gives us no choice. Occasionally, circumstances will constrain us beyond our ability to steer a different course, and we become prisoners to the chains that bind us to God's will. Incapable of extricating ourselves and moving on to the next thing, all we can do is stand and burn in holy love for our King.

It is commonly said, "Don't just stand there, do something!" When circumstances in our lives are careening out of control, the great temptation--when you don't know what to do--is to do something. "God can't steer a stationary vehicle," they say, "So start moving out on something, and let God direct your course."

That may be the way to go in some situations, but the Lord has been leading me in a different path. He inverted that common saying and gave it to me this way, "Don't just do something, stand there!" It came like this: "When you don't know what to do, don't just do something! Wait on Me, stand before Me, minister to Me, until. Until I speak. When I speak to you, then you can move out in response. But until I speak, just stand there."

I've been gripped recently by the phrase, "the fire never says, 'Enough!'" (Proverbs 30:16). There is a fire in God that is never satisfied; and there's a fire in me, placed there by God, that is never satisfied. The fire in me is constantly reaching out for more of God; and the fire in Him responds by desiring more of me in return. Eternity will be the unending adventure of ever giving more of our hearts in fiery love to Him, as He eternally unfolds more of His glorious beauty to us.

Do something dangerous. Get alone with God! His "consuming fire" will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself. This is our God, "Who makes...His ministers a flame of fire" (Hebrews 1:7).

He'll make you one, too, if you'll let Him.

Bob SorgeOasis House MinistriesEmail: oasisdesk@aol.com

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Prayer Journal: Friday, September 21

Following are the notes taken from our prayer meeting last night:

Prophetic intercession: The Church does not need to be afraid of the fire of God, but instead we should run into it. He will make Himself known to us and be with us in the fiery furnace.

Revelation 5:11-14 was read by one and later in the evening confirmed by another.

Prophetic word: The Bride of Christ was to cease feasting on “junk” food, instead of the pure food which is the Word of God. Follow-up prayer: Help us, Lord to eat food from the King’s table and to discern the difference between “food” which is clean from that which is unclean.

Scripture reading: Jeremiah 2:13 was read and then prayed a prayer of repentance that as a Church, we’ve committed two evils in turning aside from the simple truth of God’s Word and the message of repentance and the cross and in exchange, dug for ourselves cisterns to hold stagnant, dead water which can never sustain us. Another prayed that we return and dig up the wells that the enemy had filled up and we would restore those wells until none are left unstopped.

Observation made: Some would ask, “Where is the God of Elijah?” but the real question is, “Where are the Elijah’s of God?” Follow-up prayer: Lord, raise them up!

Repentance: A pastor in our meeting stood in proxy for ministers in general repenting for turning aside from being the clear voice of God in the earth and succumbing to seeking the approval of men instead. His presenting himself in this way was confirmed by another member.

Scripture reading: John 7:37, 38 was read and then a follow-up prayer: Lord, let your pure Word dwell in us and may it flow out of your people to the lost.

Scripture reading: Isaiah 54:7, 8

In a reference back to the earlier Jeremiah 2 prayers, a brief vision was shared. Big name preachers had huge wads of money caught in their throats and it was choking them. A large hand (God) was stretching every neck and wringing the money out of each throat, forcing them to regurgitate it so as to disperse those funds to ministries which would be faithful to put it to the uses the Lord intended. It was very painful to the “hot shot” preachers but it would save them ultimately from death and likewise be a blessing to those who would rightly put those offerings to kingdom use.

Another shared that it as though the Church is about to be resurrected, but with that, we must also be loosed from the grave clothes which will restrain us unless they are loosed.

Someone else had a vision of two men who represented pastors. They stood back to back with each other, possibly one protecting the other. A golden thread began to encircle them which at first appeared to be a good thing but later, as the thread continued wrapping them, proved to have them so bound so as to be unable to move! God’s Spirit intended to have them free, yet their freedom was turned to bondage. (The meaning was not quite apparent, however, perhaps it was a picture of ministries protecting each other from outside forces. That is good until ministries try to shield each other from God’s probing.)

Scripture reading: Proverbs 13:12: Follow-up prayer: For too long, the Church as been weighed down waiting for the day the Lord would have His way in the earth. However, now, Lord, let this be the hour when you no longer restrain yourself, but show forth your glory in the earth.

Scripture reading: Jeremiah 12:5: We are to be prepared for the hour we’re coming into.

Prayer: That we would be bearers of Your glory in the earth. Cleanse us for that purpose.