Powerful Preparation for Pride

This weekend Sunday morning I had a choice that I have all mornings.  I can think of whatever my mind wants to wonder on about, or I can try, try, try to get into a worship time.   I find that when I don't feel stirred by the Spirit, I struggle to just jump into a great time with God.  However, I decided to give it a try Sunday morning.   It took a bit of "work" but God blessed me with a great time with Him.  I left for church 30 minutes before I needed to be there - it's about a 20-30 minute drive, so I was right on time.   While driving I was praying for various people, and when I got to one person, I felt the Spirit move in a different way.  I felt that I needed to pray "extra" and speak out over that person.  I pulled off to a small lot on the side of the road as I felt to send a word to that person.   I pulled off and prayed and typed/texted a message out to the person.   When I finished I realized I was late for church.  I sent the message and headed off again.

When I got to church, worship had already started - at this point in life I value worship as one of the most powerful parts of life, especially corporately.  I experience God (almost) most in worship (of music and praise).    Anyways I was a bit sad to find that worship had already started, especially since I didn't think they were going to worship very long - the past two weeks worship has been short.     But I didn't want to focus on the sadness or the negative, so I found a spot in the back off to the side and joined in worship.   And worship kept going, Thank you God, you are so good to me!    He stirred in my heart.  I had been asking Him to prepare my heart for the day and reveal Himself to me, and dig deep into me.  And through Worship there He worked in me and prepared my heart.  I had expected, when I asked Him to prepare my heart, that He would prepare if for this time of worship.   And He did so, but not as I expected.  In fact He kept preparing my heart during Worship.    Then we had communion, the worship and offering and worship again!  Then a pastor (not the main senior pastor that normally preaches) stood up and gave a powerful (and very engaging) message on Humility, continuing on our 4-week sermon series on Achan (Joshua 7).   I do not recall such a powerful message on Humility before, God really had done some prep in me.   But He kept preparing me.

The message ended and went into a time of worship.  It was then at that moment that God had prepped me for.   Worship was powerful.  Part way into the preacher offered for anyone to come up front for prayer and/or anointment.  I had decided that I was not going to go up.  But God had a different Idea.   I felt convicted of a sin that I had not wanted to fully recognize for a long time.  Pride.   Feeling weighed down, I sat down.    I didn't know how to release this pride.  I gave it to God the best I know how.  Then I went up front for prayer.  I shared my conviction with the lady that was going to pray for me and asked for prayer also that I would know how to release my pride and let go of it - and that it would be something I could live out rather than a one-time, God-experience thing.   She then (with my permission) anointed me with oil, by drawing a cross with oil on my forehead in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (this was a new experience for me).  Then she prayed for me.

I returned to my seat after the prayer and encouragement and worshiped God.  I continued to try to the best of what I know how, to give to Him, to confess, and to surrender my pride.   It was a powerfully emotional moment.  The service then ended and I remained in my spot to continue to seek God, as most of the rest of the room exited the room.   A guy then sat down next to me and started to talk to me and in conversing with him, he talked me through some of what I was feeling, and through that conversation, God revealed to me more details of my pride that I needed to let go of.    Then they guy prayed for me and left me with some encouragement.   On the way out I stopped in the Family Room for prayer that I would be able to continue seeking God on this and be able to live it out day in and day out.