“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Rom 12:11 (NIV)

As prayer warriors fulfilling our high calling, this is a vital verse to pray. God wants us to be fervent in our walk with Him and in our prayer life. When we are passionate about Him, it speaks well of Him. On the other hand, if we lose our spiritual fervor, our lack of zeal brings Him no glory.

How much better to be like King David whose life was full of desire for God. Psalm 27:4 reveals his heart: “…That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord…” Or like Paul whose burning desire was to know Christ. “That I may know Him” was the driving force of His life for which he counted all things as loss.

God wants all of us to have that same longing and fervor for Himself. He longs for our wholehearted affection. As preacher/writer A.W. Tozer once wrote: “God wants to be wanted.” Songwriter Frederick Faber expresses the same thought: “God loves to be longed for; He loves to be sought, for He sought us Himself with such longing and love. He died for desire of us, marvelous thought!”

It is God alone who creates in us a hunger for Himself and who alone is the One who can fill that desire.

A huge hindrance to being zealous for God is our love for the things of the world. Satan does a good job of making sin seem attractive. This is why we need to live in the reality that we have been crucified to the world and not living for our own desires.

 And so, may God make Romans 12:11 a daily reality for us; that we would be a people enamored with the things of the Lord, and that He would keep us from anything that would rob us of our zeal for Him. After all, a lack of zeal for God will always lead to a lack of prayer and a lack of praise. And a lack of prayer and praise will not advance the Kingdom of God nor resist the kingdom of darkness.

Losing our spiritual fervor is definitely not an option!

 

Colin Stott
GRN Global Prayer Coordinator

read colin’s previous blogs:

days of great harvest – blog 27

not i but christ – blog 26

what if – Blog 25

praying scripture – Blog 24

Prayer and obedience -Blog 23

the Prayer warrior – Blog 22

time alone with god – Blog 21

last resort – Blog 20

Prayer with rejoicing faith – Blog 19

travel the world through Prayer – Blog 18

lord, break me – Blog 17

ye have not because ye ask not – Blog 16

our Prayers reveal our heart – Blog 15

church of the living god – Blog 14

when we Pray for the lost – Blog 13

more than meets the eye – Blog 12

sugar cubes and  Prayer – Blog 11

it’s a wonderful life – Blog 10

the longings of god – Blog 9

praising god before he answers – Blog 8

no place like home – Blog 7

praying for god’s glory – Blog 6

are we known as formidable opponents – Blog 5

sugar cubes and Prayer – Blog 4

rejocing over god with singing – Blog 3

the indispensable Prayers of the church – Blog 2

the glorious end – Blog 1