praise and prayer night

last night was "praise and prayer" night at CRU and it was AMAZING!! God taught me several things:

1) you know how when someone gives an invitation, they say something along the lines of "if you wanna know more about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, (fill in the blank)"...well i think this is something that Christ-followers need to hear too. i've had a personal relationship with Christ for 10 years now (today is my spiritual birthday...well from when i was baptized. i don't know my actual spiritual birthday) and i take it for granted every single day. i forget what it really means to have a PERSONAL relationship with Christ. i've been so big on friendship for several years now. friendship is huge to me. i've been striving to be a better friend here on earth, but what about my friendship with Christ? why does my friendship with Him have to suffer because i know that He will always be there when i come back to Him? i think sometimes i'm scared to put God first because other people aren't necessarily always gonna wait for me, but i know God is. but that should make me want more of HIM rather than more of the people who i know will fail me, shouldn't it?

2) while we were singing, i was so focused on my singing voice because i didn't want the people next to me to hear me screech or something if i stopped focusing on it. but i realized my focus wasn't where it should have been. i needed to be focusing on God. so i stopped singing out loud. i stopped listening to MY voice and i could hear GOD'S voice. 


     okay so i was just thinking how awesome it would be if there was a verse about how singing out loud isn't what matters, that it's what's in your heart that matters and right when i was thinking there's no such verse, God showed me this one:
            "Sing and make music in your HEART to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." ~Ephesians 5:19b-20


3) i was sitting against the wall in the back spending time with just me and God. no one else around. while we were singing "holy holy holy" (the earth is Yours by Gungor), i couldn't help but to picture Heaven and get really excited. i sat there with my head bowed in reference and my hands raised in worship singing "holy holy holy" and wondering if that's what it will be like in Heaven.

    "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
                                                 'Holy, holy, holy
                                               is the Lord God Almighty,
                                            who was, and is, and is to come.'"
     ~Revelation 4:8
(i encourage you to read verses 9-11 too. they are a powerful picture of what worship should look like)

as i sat there towards the end with my hands raised to the God Almighty, my arms started hurting but i really didn't want to put them down. but then i realized something. in Heaven, there is no pain! i can worship my Father with my hands raised for all of eternity and NEVER get tired!!!! how awesome is that?!!