Revival means something to a small Baptist church I visited last night in Denver. The strength of praying saints hovered in the church stuffed with summer heat and saturated with the presence of God.
The fact that this small church with so much power was clear when the pastor stepped to the keyboard. His voice sounded like the smoke-cured voices of blues and jazz artists of the past, and his passion for God smoldered in every note.
Our grandparents and great-grandparents may have worshiped in this mode of simplicity -- from the fields of Mississippi and Georgia to the neighborhoods of Chicago and Harlem. Their praise and sermons spilled from pain, joy and glorious prayer. And for those who took hold of it, those sanctuaries became places of destiny. Future fathers, mothers, leaders, construction workers, bankers, teachers, and doctors sealed their covenant with God in those churches and never forgot that place of Bethel.
Although God is calling us to go beyond the places where generations past walked, may we cling to the simplicity of worship and prayer. May I cling to it.
Comments