Consecration

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines consecration as: [The act or ceremony of separating from a common to a sacred use, or of devoting and dedicating a person or thing to the service and worship of God, by certain rites or solemnities. Consecration does not make a person or thing really holy, but declares it to be sacred, that is, devoted to God or to divine service; as the consecration of the priests among the Israelites; the consecration of the vessels used in the temple; the consecration of a bishop.]

<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">In the year 2000, I felt impressed that I needed to spend time in prayer with the Lord at 5:30a.m. This was a thought I wrestled with because I had two young boys and I valued my sleep. But no matter how much I pushed that thought into the back of my mind, it continued to pop back up. I finally surrendered myself to this calling and set my alarm to wake up and spend time in prayer. I didn't think of myself as a "morning person" at all and it was really, really, really, hard to wake up to that alarm. I also didn't like disturbing my husband and robbing him of his sleep, especially since he worked ten hour days. So I asked [more like made a bargain] with God that if he wanted me to get up at that time he'd need to help me wake up. So, the first night I set my alarm for 5:30 and went to bed.In the year 2000, I felt impressed that I needed to spend time in prayer with the Lord at 5:30a.m. This was a thought I wrestled with because I had two young boys and I valued my sleep. But no matter how much I pushed that thought into the back of my mind, it continued to pop back up. I finally surrendered myself to this calling and set my alarm to wake up and spend time in prayer. I didn’t think of myself as a “morning person” at all and it was really, really, really, hard to wake up to that alarm. I also didn’t like disturbing my husband and robbing him of his sleep, especially since he worked ten hour days. So I asked [more like made a bargain] with God that if he wanted me to get up at that time he’d need to help me wake up. So, the first night I set my alarm for 5:30 and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up, but not to my alarm. My first thought was that I overslept. But I turned over and looked at my digital alarm clock and it was 5:28a.m. I had woken up all on my own, or so I thought. So I quickly turned off the alarm and slid out of bed and made my way down the hallway to the spare bedroom. I placed a pillow on the floor next to the bed so I could kneel and pray over the top of the bed. I wasn’t really sure how this was supposed to work, how long I was supposed to pray, or even sometimes what to pray, but I showed up and made myself available. When I wasn’t sure of what to pray, I recalled the Lord’s Prayer as a guideline to my thoughts as I spent time with him. I started out acknowledging God as my Father and recalling everything I’ve come to know about the holiness of God as I’ve studied my Bible. I would visualize God sitting on his throne and I was coming before him to worship and adore him, to praise him and thank him for all he’s done for me. It was a visual positioning of myself in recognition that he is Holy and I am humbly coming in before him. I was answering his call on my heart to come before the God of the Universe and commune with him. I practiced this disciplined prayer time almost every morning for years and years and it was in those prayer times that I developed a deep, intimate, relationship with my Father, my God, my Savior, my King, and my friend.

People don’t use the words commune or consecrate much anymore. When I was growing up in church we sang hymns and you would hear words like that laced all throughout many of the songs we sang. Most churches now have praise and celebratory song lyrics but you don’t have many reflecting on the holiness of God. Don’t get me wrong, I love to celebrate Jesus and what he’s done for me, but I think there’s a whole generation of Christians that have no idea what it means to enter the holy place where we come before the Lord and devote ourselves to the daily practice of listening and talking to the Lord.

When I was spending time in prayer this morning, the Lord brought to mind the lyrics of the old hymn, Have Thine own way Lord. I thought I’d share the words with you:

Have Thine own way, Lord,   Have Thine own way; Thou art the Potter,   I am the clay. Mould me and make me   After Thy will, While I am waiting,   Yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord,   Have Thine own way; Search me and try me,   Master, today. Whiter than snow, Lord,   Wash me just now, As in Thy presence   Humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord,   Have Thine own way; Wounded and weary,   Help me, I pray. Power, all power,   Surely is Thine, Touch me and heal me,   Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord,   Have Thine own way; Hold o’er my being   Absolute sway. Fill with Thy Spirit   Till all shall see Christ only, always,   Living in me.

As I meditated on the lyrics, I realized that that’s exactly what was taking place within me during my prayer times. As I was yielding myself to God and being still long enough to hear his voice, he was transforming me into his image. It wasn’t enough to just stay with what I knew as the Christian lifestyle. I needed to get to know my Father better, get to know his character, how he thinks and feels about things going on in my own life and in the world around me. The more I got to know Him, the more I was changed to become more like him. I was one way before I entered into my prayer time, but when I came out, I was a different person altogether with a renewed mindset towards everything. It didn’t matter what was going on in my life at that moment because he enabled me to see everything from His perspective and not my own. This time of consecrated prayer became a deliberate act of my own will to break away from what I already knew and grasp a greater understanding of the God who created me. I wanted to become His holy vessel submitted for sacred use and dedicated to His holy service.

But this consecration to God isn’t just for a few believers or for those in ministry, I believe our Father in Heaven wants and desires for all of his children to spend time alone with him. When we accept the good news of Jesus Christ as our means and way of salvation for all eternity, it is truly only the beginning. It’s only our introduction and pass key to the Kingdom of God. What Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave did for us is HUGE for sure, but it definitely doesn’t stop there. It’s in the coming to know him and the intimacy we develop with him that creates the Kingdom of God within you and enables you to pour out the Kingdom of God to those around you. You can’t powerfully share if you don’t have first-hand knowledge and experience with God. This is why time alone with him is essential in the life of a Christian. So if you’ve never practiced this in your relationship with God, I hope and pray that you will make the time. If you’ve desired more and read tons of books or read and re-read your Bible end to end and you still want more and have questions you want answered, I can tell you without hesitation that everything you’ve been searching for is found in intimate communion, one-on-one in the wonderful presence of God.