05/04/2024
A fervent spirit is the precursor to fervent prayer, but it isn't something we can conjure up, it is a gift. Pastor E.M. Bounds describes it like this... "Fervency has its seat in the heart, not the brain or intellect of the mind. Fervency is the pulse and movement of the emotional nature." And he goes on to say that "we can ask God to plant it in our hearts. Then it is ours to nourish and cherish." The apostle Paul speaks of a fervent spirit as well…
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
Romans 12:10-11 ESV
Fervent prayer is like the worst case of love sickness you could ever imagine. It begins with a glance; an unexplained infatuation that grows and blossoms into an all-encompassing and overpowering need to be in the presence of God always. David felt this deep desire for the presence of the Lord when he wrote these words:
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.”
Psalms 42:1-4 KJV
God plants the seed of our fervency within us, and then we water it and feed it until at last it becomes the object of our every thought... The root of fervent prayer can be found within our heart, and from there it bursts forth and blossoms. So fervent prayer is the unbounded expression of the love between ourselves and God; it is our desire to be with Him and speak with Him for hours on end.
I remember when Ann and I were engaged to be married and were separated by distance. She was attending Aquinas College here in Nashville, and I was in Northern Virginia finishing computer school. Back then there were no cell phones and certainly no unlimited long distance calling plans. So, once a week I would call her and we would talk as long as our money held out, and then for another long week my heart would ache to see her and to hear her voice again. If you look up the definition of fervent it means to have or display a passionate intensity... That is what Ann and I shared and that is what God expects us to experience with Him.
Today as we pray, let’s seek out that heartfelt fervency for God. If we can't feel it then let’s ask Him to plant the seed within us, and then water it with our prayers and feed it with our praise. God wants us to love Him with all our being... He desires us to seek Him with the passion of absolute love and affection. He wants our heart to ache when we can't feel Him near. In short, He wants us to want Him just as He wants us. If you are having trouble believing this then ask yourself... Who do I love more than my Heavenly Father, and if He should ask, would I be willing as Abraham was, to do so? God gave His Son Jesus for us, but although Abraham demonstrated his fervent love for God by being willing to offer Isaac, The Lord loved him too much to make him follow through with that, and He has never ask anyone else to make such an offering.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
Genesis 22;1-3 ESV
“But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”
Genesis 22;11-13 ESV
Fervent faith, walking life fervently within God’s will, and praying fervent prayers, do we do these things? is fervency ingrained within us so deeply that it’s roots and ours can’t be separated? Are we described as being men and women in possession of a fervent spirit?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the seed of fervency you have planted within me. Thank you Lord for the fervent love you have demonstrated for me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and for that selfsame love I am growing in, and feel for you. Thank you Father for your mercy and grace which flows through Christ, and blesses me so incredibly; so completely. Thank you Abba as I seek your presence by day, and long for you in the night, even in my slumber my love for you persists in my dreams. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who loved me before the moment of creation, who loves me now with an unfettered love, and who will love me fervently for all eternity. Help me now Lord to be more like your Son Jesus with every breath I take, and with every step I walk with you. Help me to praise you as I should, to humble myself before you, and to give you all the glory for everything I am, and will ever be. Help me to do these things fervently, and embrace them from the depths of my heart. For this I pray, and from my heart I will embrace you forevermore. Amen, Amen, Amen.
Fervent is the English translation of the Hebrew word “dalaq” which means “to burn” Do you possess a burning love for God and Jesus Christ? Do you need to reread this message with this in mind?
Rich Forbes