Saying Yes

Walking with Jesus: Crosses the Sea, into the Country of the Gerasenes
Mark 5:5: 1-13: Jesus heals the man possessed by demons

Meditation: Saying Yes to God(part 1)

The prayer that many hear in churches on Pentecost goes like this:
"God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as You sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, look upon Your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit. Kindle in us the fire of Your love, and strengthen our lives for service in Your kingdom...."

That's a very nice prayer. I mean, who can argue with "open our hearts" and "strengthen our lives"? The prayer asks very large things in very comfortable phrases. Certainly, this prayer lets us sound like we are saying yes to God--but without taking any unnecessary chances.

But what if our Pentecost prayer went more like one of these:
"Lord, grab me out of my safe life and compel me to heal and teach and reveal Your love so powerfully that I am scorned by the complacent, feared by the unjust and hated to death by the children of darkness."
or
"Lord, rip open the sky and mark me with a fire of conviction so eternally sure that the very walls of unbelief and hatred and prejudice crumble before me."
or
"Lord, storm me with the wind of the Spirit; seize me and soar with me up and away from the minor crises that fasten my sight on the ground; fire my eyes with a vision of what Your Spirit/Wind/Fire loose in my world could tear down, and heal, and make new."

I guess the question for today is "Do I want to continue to be safe? Do I want to be comfortable? Do I want my life to look like it has or do I want to go deeper? Do I want to soar higher?" Nine years ago I prayed that "whatever you want me to do God, I will do. Where ever you want me to go, I will go". Is it time to be bold again? Is it time to say Yes Lord? Is it time to pick up the pace and instead of just walking with Jesus, maybe it is time to jog....