Prayer Continues

And so the prayer continues; however, its purpose has changed. My prayer for Winter Retreat was that we would see both healing and unity, and I have seen immense amounts of both of those happen in Winter Retreat and persisting through even now. Praise God, for broken relationships and hearts who had been back stabbed and betrayed were healed. A conflict and a pain that was years old was resolved once and for all, and for the first time in 6 months, I sleep with an easy heart and an easy mind because things are finally good and getting better.

My biggest prayer now is for the continuation of this Feeling, this Passion, and this Love. Jimmy said at camp that if it fades it wasn't God, and I've gone to several camps and several times at youth group where everyone gets really emotional and the worship is great. God truly does move in those times, but I feel like we open ourselves up to God. Yet, when He starts trying to fix us, we close ourselves up again and shove Him away. I pray that won't happen this time. I pray that this Love would continue and further, that it would spread into our families and into our schools. I pray that it would be so much more than just a “camp high!” I pray that it would be a Reformation.

This past week has gone by so quickly to me. I can't remember much from it from school and things like that, but I do remember that I've felt like I've been floating, like I've been flying. I may seem a bit out of things, but I feel like I'm weightless, floating 10 feet off the ground. What I want to do is becoming what I do and what I don't want to do is becoming what I don't do. I look at the people in this youth group now, and I see a light. I pray that light would never fade, not just for us, but for Nathan. He has come to us at a bad time and in a slump and hasn't seen us at our highs and at our greatest points of exemplifying the unalienable Love that is Christ's Love. I pray that he would begin to see in us what we're really like, who we really are, and I pray that each of us would be able to show that to him.

God, coming off of Winter Retreat, immediately things have changed drastically for me and for a lot of other people, and I haven't stopped praying since. Life is becoming complicated and challenging again, and it's more than welcome. “You're growing,” You say. I believe that, and I'm excited for it. Since Jimmy mentioned his 40-Day Fast and how close it brought him to You, I've been feeling challenged to one of my own. I want You to be what sustains me and nothing else. I love You, and You are all I need. Starting tomorrow morning, I will not eat any solid food for 40 Days as I delve into an intensive time of prayer and drawing nearer to You, God, and I'm not worried or concerned about a thing. I'm confident and excited to see what You will bring to the table and to see all the things You will show me. I simply cannot wait.

Jon Rarick