Let’s say that the tithe tests how basic you are, how reactive you are to material concerns. This next test asks, “how acidic are you?” What is your threshold for fire? The test is Jesus’ question in the garden of Gethsemane the night He was arrested, “Could you not watch and pray with me one hour?”

A crazy dream of mine is to swim with sharks. I’d love to go down into the water in one of those steel cages and see the great whites up close. Up close, but safe! (Ha! Ha!) There is something about approaching something so terrifying that is thrilling!

In Exodus God fought a war for Israel. He destroyed the nation of Egypt to set them free from slavery and He led them to a mountain. Moses was instructed to mark off a space around the mountain so the people would keep at a safe distance. Then God came down! Thunder, fire, smoke, and the Voice that spoke the world into being! Do you shiver?

They did more than shiver. They told Moses, “No.” They told him to go talk to God for them, but don’t make them approach, don’t make them listen to the Voice. When God was on fire and it was going down, they turned away!

In the garden on the eve of the battle, as Jesus is suiting up to walk into the Dragon’s gaping maw, the disciples went to sleep. They closed their eyes. They looked away. “Could you not watch and pray with me for 1 hour?!”

Moses once said, “I wish the Lord would put His Spirit on all of His people and they would all prophesy!” Jesus said, “I go away so the Comforter will come. He will remind you of all I have said.” God is inviting us into friendship with Him. We have the opportunity to see Who He really is, to know Him, to hear His Voice, to be with Him when He is on Fire! When He is all that He can be, will you back away and play it safe? Will you go to sleep and fail to recognize the glory of the moment?

Prayer is how you approach. It starts quiet and unassuming, but as we make a habit of it, our eyes begin to open. We engage in a conversation that is thrilling!  When an hour is not enough because you long for fire, then you’re getting close. 🙂

“Safe!?! Of course He isn’t safe! But He is good.” C.S. Lewis The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe