Invite Him In

Last night at 24:6, our Worship and Prayer gathering, Jim challenged us out of Romans chapter 8 to live free of condemnation. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” is a reality that most of us struggle to fully embrace.

As I stood at the front praying over our church body I kept seeing a barrier between our body and the freedom in which is described in Romans 8. It was unclear to me what that barrier was. I went home that night with a heavy heart for our church. I woke up the next morning with the same heavy heart. I kept asking God “what is the barrier? What is preventing us from fully embracing this freedom offered in you?”

This morning I heard God say to me, “I stand at the door and knock.” They have let me in but they are keeping me in their entryway.”

“I’m a guest in their entryway not a cohabitant in their home”, was the statement I heard loud and clear. Then this followed…

“They haven’t invited me into their kitchens. They are hesitant because their kitchen is a mess and they are unsure of how to prepare a meal for a King and Savior. They are fearful that they won’t have the right things or knowledge to prepare the meal. What they don’t’ know is that I will cleanse it and prepare a meal for them. I have everything they need.

They won’t invite me into their dining rooms because it’s cluttered and unused. They haven’t been in there in years. They avoid intimate conversations and vulnerability which has caused them to feel isolated from me and those close to them. I will bring new life to this room if they will let me in.

They won’t invite me into their bedrooms because they are ashamed of the things they have hidden in there. It’s a place of intimacy that has been mishandled by some and neglected by others. They don’t realize I can bring complete freedom to that room if they will just let me in.

They won’t even invite me into their living rooms because of what might be brought up in conversation. There are hurts, thought patterns, illnesses, and addictions that they don’t believe I can or want to help with. I can set them free.”

If any of this rings true in your soul I’d encourage you to say this prayer with me.

Jesus, I apologize for keeping you isolated in the entry of my soul. I invite you into every room of my life. There is no place that is off limits to you. No area that is too private for you to enter. I invite you into those places in my life that need new life. I invite you into those places that I’ve been ashamed and embarrassed of. Bring your healing and cleansing presence into my whole being. I ask this in no other name than Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen!