The Father’s Voice

   I wrote in my previous post, First Fruits, that the Lord was beginning to move and pour out His Spirit among our youth and that I believed that there was so much more to come…. 

   Over the last month, I have seen our kids fall in love with the voice of the Lord. It's so interesting to me because this group of teenagers that we are working with aren't great at sitting through teachings and even worse at fully engaging in worship, but as soon as we give them as opportunity to silence their hearts in His presence and just listen for the Father's still small voice, they are all in.

The Lord said [to Elijah], “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper… -1 Kings 19:11-12

    The Lord spoke to Elijah in a quiet whisper. I love to watch as forty kids sit in absolutely reverent silence for as long as it takes until they hear Him speak. It is beautiful and surprising every time. These hearts are constantly surrounded by lies about their worth. They doubt themselves. They are hungry to hear their Father speak truth over their hearts. And He loves to show up! 

    This past Wednesday night we were finishing up our series on the Cross and what it means to walk with Jesus. We decided to close out our series with a night of worship and listening prayer. We wanted to be drenched in His Presence. We wanted to hear Him speak into their hearts. And the Lord, of course, came through… 

   He began to speak of His love. He began to call out and to pursue hearts. Rosita came to me during prayer and asked if she could speak to the younger youth. She began to share powerfully about His love. She's been battling feelings of unworthiness lately. In the midst of these feelings of unworthiness, Jesus spoke of His love. For the first time she felt the unconditional nature of His love. For the first time in her life, she felt truly deeply loved at the core of who she is. As she speaks into their situation, I watch tears fill their eyes. His love is pursuing their hearts and they are responding. We gave them an opportunity to give their hearts completely to Jesus. We gave them the chance to be baptized if they had already given their hearts to the Lord. 

    Two of our lovely sweet girls, Keyla and Alison, stayed after youth. They were ready. They wanted to give their entire hearts to Jesus. Cadence was able to talk and pray with Keyla while I talked and prayed with Alison. We jumped for joy and celebrated together with our sweet new sisters. We also had the pleasure of seeing six of our kids be baptized on Sunday night (pictured right). I still believe that there are more to come. The Lord is pursing their hearts beautifully. They are falling more and more in love with their Father. They are hungry for more of Him. And if they are hungry He will show up. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -Jeremiah 29:13

    Please continue to pray with us as we walk alongside these amazing teenagers. My heart is overjoyed to be a part of the work of the Lord in their lives. Pray that they will fall more and more in love with Him everyday.