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Confessions of a closet pray-er |
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David Bryant and the Holy Spirit nudge
We were planning the fourth issue of Pray! magazine (J/F ‘98). The topic was revival, and we had invited David Bryant (then president of Concerts of Prayer International) to meet with the Pray! staff as we sought God’s direction for the issue. David began to give us a vision of what revival means—what it looks like, what it accomplishes—and my spirit began to burn within me. The more he talked about the manifest presence of the Lord, the more I felt like I needed to be face down on the floor! At one point I shared with the group: “I want our articles to inspire readers to feel what I’m feeling—I feel like I need to go off and pray right now!"
David Bryant looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Maybe you should.”
But I didn’t. I wanted to savor every exciting word of what he was
saying. Surely more information would fuel the “burn” for even more
extraordinary prayer when the time was right. But the time had been
right at that moment and I missed it. The Holy Spirit was ready right
then to bear witness with my spirit on an issue of monumental
importance, and I let the occasion slip through my fingers. And the
burn went away.
That was 1997, and I have always regretted that
missed opportunity. Who knows what would have been birthed in prayer
in that moment if I had cooperated with that “Holy Spirit nudge”?
It
is grace—a true gift from God—when He extends a heart-addressed
invitation to be His partner at the dance. No one else in the room that
day felt that extraordinary “pull” that I felt. He had chosen me (for
some unexplainable reason), and I brushed it aside.
In the years
since, I’ve been graced with many other invitations to partner with Him
in something He wants to bring to pass. But that lost bit of destiny
stands as a reminder to flow with the Spirit when He says it’s time—not
just when it’s convenient for me.
So from one closet pray-er to another . . . when the grace comes, go with it! Don’t miss the nudges!
Keep the incense rising,
Sandra Higley, Editor
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