Fervent Chapter 1 – Your Passion

Our passion for prayer often feels diminished.  That is how Satan wins.  In the book, Priscilla shares how a very real enemy has been plotting and strategizing against us to keep us ineffective.  He is doing this with intention and on purpose. We must come up with our own strategies to win this war.  “We don’t have the luxury of  playing nice with prayer.” (Fervent)

So whether it is your passion for prayer or your love for ministry and doing the work God has given you, Satan has been strategizing against you.  Here are some of the ways he is doing that.

Lies and tactics of Satan to watch out for in regards to your passions:

1.  Your lack of passion is because God was never there or got disgusted and left.  This makes me think that what was God’s plan was just a mirage, a joke or not for me.  The truth is that our passion does not always run hot, sometimes we are only maintaining our passion.  God is just as close in these times as He is when the passion feels strong.
2. When we are being productive and engaged in godly things, Satan will sneak in and steal your passion.  It makes me feel like what I am doing is unimportant and not necessary.  I see this a lot with my writing, I know God has called me to do this, but I must continuously swat away the pesky voice of Satan telling me I am not making a difference and nobody cares what I write.  Lucky for me I write for an audience of one!
3. Satan will make you think that you are unoriginal and an imposter.  He will make you believe that because what you are doing is similar to what someone else is doing, it does not indeed belong to you.   As a writer, we call this the imposter syndrome.  It is not true.  Solomon tells us that “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”  Ecclesiastes 1:9  We don’t have to suffer from an Imposter Syndrome, we and our passions are made in the image of God.
4. Sometimes we do lose our passions.  Satan will tell you it’s your fault and that it cannot be regained.  He will tell you that you have blown it and it’s too late to get it back.  Lies, lies, lies.  DO NOT try to get your passion back yourself.  Go to God and trust Him that it will come back and be just as strong as before.  He is more than willing to do that.

Call to Prayer – The worst passion we can lose is our passion for prayer.  When we don’t “feel” like praying is the most crucial time to pray!  Start by simply opening up your hands and asking God to restore to you your prayer voice. Start out by praying prayers of praise and gratitude.  Prayer does not have to be loud or filled with passionate words for God to hear you.  Soon you will feel a newness, a freshness come over you as the Holy Spirit begins to fill you with His presence. Now you will be praying with passion again!