Transformed From Glory to Glory

Second Corinthians 3 reveals one of the great truths of the Christian life: God does not transform us primarily through greater effort, but through a deeper vision of Christ. Paul contrasts the old covenant with the new and shows that, under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, believers are given new life, an unveiled view of Christ's glory, and are progressively changed into His likeness.

The Christian life begins with an instantaneous work of God—we become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). But it does not end there. From that moment forward, God begins a lifelong work of transforming us into the likeness of His Son. 

In this post, I'd like to focus on four aspects of the new life in Christ that help us understand what it truly means to be "transformed from glory to glory."

A New Heart - God changes who we are.

The first aspect of the new life in Christ is a new heart, whereby God changes who we are. In 2 Cor 3:3–6, we come to learn that the Spirit writes God's law on our hearts, which is a key aspect of the new covenant. Christianity is not merely external obedience but an inward work of the Holy Spirit. True transformation begins on the inside. As Paul says, "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (v. 6).

A New Vision - God changes what we see.

The second aspect of the new life in Christ is a new vision, whereby God changes what we see. In 2 Cor 3:7–16, Paul teaches us that Christ removes the veil that blinds unbelieving hearts. Only through Christ can we truly see God's glory. Transformation begins with revelation.

A New Freedom  - God changes how we live.

The third aspect of the new life in Christ is a new freedom, whereby God changes how we live. In 2 Cor 3:17, it says,  "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Freedom is not a license to sin but freedom from sin's bondage and from condemnation. The Spirit liberates us to know, love, and obey Christ.

A New Likeness - God changes what we become.

The fourth aspect of the new life in Christ is a new likeness, whereby God changes what we become. This is found in the climax of Paul's third chapter in 2 Cor 3:18, which says, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 

We behold Christ with unveiled faces. As we gaze upon Him through Scripture and by the Holy Spirit (eg., prayer and worship), we are changed into His image. This transformation is progressive—"from glory to glory"—as the Spirit conforms us more and more to Christ. Beholding His glory, we are transformed from glory to glory.

Many Christians instinctively think:

Try harder → become holier.

But Paul reverses the order:

Behold Christ → become like Christ.

This keeps the focus on God's grace rather than self-effort. We are not transformed by striving to manufacture holiness, but by continually fixing our eyes on Christ, whose glory reshapes us from the inside out through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Closing Words

The movement of 2 Corinthians 3 is beautifully simple, as the graphic below shows us:

This chapter teaches that seeing leads to becoming. The Holy Spirit gives us new life, removes the veil from our hearts, and enables us to behold the glory of Christ. As we continue to gaze upon Him, He progressively transforms us into His likeness until the day we share fully in His eternal glory. 

The Christian life can be viewed through three complementary passages:

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — We are made new.
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 — We are being transformed.
• Romans 8:29 — We will be conformed to the image of His Son.

From beginning to end, God's purpose has never changed: to make His children like Christ. We don't become like Christ by taking our eyes off Him and focusing on ourselves. We become like Christ by fixing our eyes on Him. The Holy Spirit removes the veil from our hearts so that, by continually beholding the glory of Christ, we are progressively transformed into His likeness from glory to glory. The longer we behold His glory, the more we reflect His glory.

Attribution notice: Scripture take from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. This message is based on four keys points made in Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3 summarized with assistance from AI tools.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like my worship music video of a song I wrote called From Glory to Glory. You may also enjoyed my article on 2 Corinthians 4 called Having an Eternal Perspective, The Blessings of Being in Christ. The Love of Jesus, Having the Love of God in Your Heart, Compelled by Love, One Thing, Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials in Heaven, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Christian Perfection

John Wesley

One of my favorite preachers from modern Church history is John Wesley, an English minister who served the Lord during the eighteenth century. He is so well-known that there is no need for much of an introduction. I've been enjoying a book that contains excerpts from his personal journals, which I highly recommend. It is called The Heart of John Wesley's Journal by Percy Livingstone Parker and John Wesley.

Wesley was highly criticized by many people for his message on Christian perfection, and he met with much opposition over it. In fact, he was often verbally and physically assaulted by various mobs and individuals, when he attempted to preach anywhere. In one of his journal entries, he explained what he actually taught about perfection and wondered how anyone, Christian or not, could have any problem with his doctrine if they understood what he meant by it.

Here is how Wesley explained it:

"By Christian perfection, I mean (1) loving God with all our heart. Do you object to this? I mean (2) a heart and life all devoted to God. Do you desire less? I mean (3) regaining the whole image of God. What objection to this? I mean (4) having all the mind that was in Christ. Is this going too far? I mean (5) walking uniformly as Christ walked. And this surely no Christian will object to. If anyone means anything more or anything else by perfection, I have no Concern with it. But if this is wrong, yet what need of this heat about it, this violence, I had almost said, fury of opposition, carried so far as even not to lay out anything with this man, or that woman, who professes it?"

To summarize his five points, they were as follows:

Loving God with All Our Heart
Perfection means loving God with all our heart. Jesus said that this is the greatest commandment: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."(Mat 22:37-38). As Wesley asked, "Do you object to this?"

A Heart And Life All Devoted To God
Perfection means having a heart and life fully devoted to God. Hanani the seer said in Scripture, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." (2 Chr 16:9a)

Jesus said, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luk 14:33, NASB)

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." (Luk 9:23-24, NASB)

The apostle Paul said, "I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." (1Co 7:35)

As Wesley asked, "Do you desire less?"

Regaining The Whole Image Of God
Perfection means having the whole image of God in you restored. God originally created man in His own image. Scripture says, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Gen 1:27). But sin marred the image of God. Yet when any man comes to Christ, the Lord begins to restore the image of God in him. It's true that old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17). However, there is an ongoing process of transformation that each follower of Christ goes through. Paul said, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2Co 3:18).

As Wesley asked, "What objection [do you have] to this?"

Having All The Mind That Was In Christ

Perfection means having all the mind that was in Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, "For, 'Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1Co 2:16).  

He also wrote: 

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Php 2:5-11).

Pray that God will give you the mind, the emotions, the attitude, and the humility of Christ. As Wesley asked, "Is this going too far?"

Walking Uniformly As Christ Walked
Perfection is walking consistently as Jesus walked. The apostle John wrote: "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." (1Jn 2:6)

The apostle Peter was in agreement with this when he wrote: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' " (1Pe 2:21-22).

Who can find anything wrong with teaching that we should walk as Jesus walked and follow in His steps? As Wesley said, "Surely no Christian will object to this."

See my article Following in His Steps.

Closing Words

Our Lord has taught us to "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mat 5:48). Obviously he would not command us to do something that was impossible for us. We know that apart from Christ we can do nothing (Jn 15:5), but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). For with God all things are possible (Mt 19:26).

Having learned from Wesley himself what he meant by Christian perfection, and then having discovered the solid Scriptural basis for it, I (like him) really don't see how anyone could disagree with this teaching. It's straight out of the Bible. If anyone means anything more or anything else by perfection than what has been explained in this post, I have no concern with it.

Wesley was honest to admit with the apostle Paul that he had not yet attained to perfection (Phil 3:12). But he used to say that we should not simply expect to attain to perfection only once we have died and gone to heaven, but we should live our lives expecting to be made perfect by the Lord at any hour. Indeed, this is a wonderful thought for all those who -- like Wesley -- are aiming for perfection and desire to attain to it in this lifetime. I hope you will take such a view as well.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB), copyright The Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Quote from Wesley's journal taken from The Heart of John Wesley's Journal by Percy Livingstone Parker, (Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2008), 379-380.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: Aim for Perfection, Following in His Steps, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Called to be Blameless, The Four Tallest Homes in Heaven, The Cost of Discipleship, The Obedience of Faith, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Holy Living in a Perverted World, and Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Praying Heart-Prayers

I have previously written about the need to cry out to God loudly in prayer, which I still believe is important and necessary. But have you ever felt like you don't know how you ought to pray in a given situation? God has a great solution for that. Today I'm going to discuss what I call heart-prayers, whereby you pray without using intelligible words, and sometimes even inaudibly.

The apostle Paul wrote, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;" (Rom 8:26).

The Help of the Holy Spirit
This verse speaks of the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer, because our weakness greatly limits us in our ability to pray for ourselves and for one another. Our natural human condition is that we do not know how to pray as we should. As Matthew Henry said, "We are often at a loss - graces are weak, affections cold, thoughts wandering, and it is not always easy to find the heart to pray, 2Sa_7:27. The apostle speaks of this in the first person: 'We know not.' He puts himself among the rest. Folly, and weakness, and distraction in prayer, are what all the saints are complaining of. If so great a saint as Paul knew not what to pray for, what little reason have we to go forth about that duty in our own strength!"

Moreover, we don't know what to pray for specifically, because we do not fully understand our situation as the Lord does. Another reason is that in our nearsightedness we tend to focus on our immediate need rather than on what is best in the long term and even in eternity. We also tend to be partial in favor of our own selfish desires.

In light of all that, it's no wonder we need the assistance of the Spirit in prayer. There are many ways in which He helps us, including through the Word of God as we pray and read it. He speaks to us through it and reveals to us the promises of God for us, as well as how to go about living. He also speaks directly to our hearts as well. But the help Paul was speaking of here is specifically referring to the Spirit's help by praying for us. Not only do we have the assurance that Jesus Christ is interceding for us in heaven before the Father, but we also have the promise that the Spirit is interceding for us in our hearts.

Matthew Henry commented: "The Spirit in the heart helps, dwelling in us, working in us, as a Spirit of grace and supplication, especially with respect to the infirmities we are under when we are in a suffering state, when our faith is most apt to fail; for this end the Holy Ghost was poured out." He explains that the word for "Helps" is the Greek word "sumantilambanetai," meaning "heaves with us, over against us, helps as we help one that would lift up a burden, by lifting over against him at the other end - helps with us, that is, with us doing our endeavour, putting forth the strength we have. We must not sit still, and expect that the Spirit should do all; when the Spirit goes before us we must bestir ourselves. We cannot without God, and he will not without us. What help? Why, the Spirit itself makes intercession for us, dictates our requests...draws up our plea for us...so graciously has God provided for the encouragement of the praying remnant. The Spirit, as an enlightening Spirit, teaches us what to pray for, as a sanctifying Spirit works and excites praying graces, as a comforting Spirit silences our fears, and helps us over all our discouragements. The Holy Spirit is the spring of all our desires and breathings towards God."

The Spirit's Intercession for Us
Now keeping in mind the meaning of this help of the Spirit who heaves with us, consider what Albert Barnes aptly pointed out about the meaning of "Maketh intercession," regarding this work of the Spirit in our hearts. He stated, "The word used here huper-entungchanei, occurs no where else in the New Testament. The word entungchanō, however, is used several times. It means properly to be present with anyone for the purpose of aiding, as an advocate does in a court of justice; hence, to intercede for anyone, or to aid or assist in any manner. In this place it simply means that the Holy Spirit greatly assists or aids us; not by praying for us, but in our prayers and infirmities."

It's interesting to note that the root word "huper" is where we get our English word "hyper". It means over, beyond, and more than, in much the same way we use the word hyper today, as in hyperactive. I like this word huper or hyper, because it connotes something extraordinary like turbo power in an automobile engine or like the after-burners on a fighter jet that light up with flames shooting out the back, as the aircraft takes off in a steep climb skyward. But huper also means "in behalf of, or for the sake of." When you combine this word "huper" with the word "entungchanei" which refers to interceding, you have a powerful word. The Spirit Himself "hyper-intercedes" for us in a manner that is supernatural, extraordinary, more than we could ever do on our own, and beyond our natural abilities. He does all of this on our behalf or for us, which is the other part of the meaning of huper, and that's why it says the Spirit intercedes "for us." This is like turbo-prayer on our behalf.

It also reminds me of another illustration from auto mechanics, which is something called overdrive. According to Wikipedia, "Overdrive is a term used to describe the operation of an automobile cruising at sustained speed with reduced engine revolutions per minute, leading to better fuel consumption, lower noise, and lower wear." When your vehicle shifts into this gear, you are able to cruise long distances at high speeds with less friction and wear on your engine. When the Spirit performs this hyper-supplication within us, it's a wonderful feature, because we are enabled to accomplish far more in prayer than we ever could on our own, and we can do so without wearing ourselves out.

Groanings Too Deep for Words
Let's just recap for a moment. The Spirit heaves with us inside as we pray and assists us with the heavy lifting by providing this supernatural, high-powered intercession within us. It's a sort of extreme prayer or ultra-intercession. What does that look like or sound like? Let's return to Matthew Henry's comments for more on that:

"Now this intercession which the Spirit makes is, (1.) With groanings that cannot be uttered. The strength and fervency of those desires which the Holy Spirit works are hereby intimated. There may be praying in the Spirit where there is not a word spoken; as Moses prayed (Exo_14:15), and Hannah, 1Sa_1:13. It is not the rhetoric and eloquence, but the faith and fervency, of our prayers, that the Spirit works, as an intercessor, in us. Cannot be uttered; they are so confused, the soul is in such a hurry with temptations and troubles, we know not what to say, nor how to express ourselves. Here is the Spirit interceding with groans that cannot be uttered. When we can but cry, 'Abba, Father,' and refer ourselves to him with a holy humble boldness, this is the work of the Spirit."

Henry pointed out here that this intercession of the Spirit is with groanings too deep for words. As I've been saying, this happens at a much higher level, above and beyond anything we are capable of in ourselves. Since these groanings are so deep that they cannot be expressed with words, they may come forth as a deep sigh, a cry, or a moan. By definition a groan is a deep inarticulate sound made in pain or despair. That's basically what we're talking about here. In some cases, it may even be completely inaudible to the human ear, such as what happened when Moses cried out to God in his heart.

When he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, as they were being chased by the Egyptian army and the people were crying out to him that he should have left them in Egypt, he was telling them not to be afraid because the Lord would fight for them. But even as he was in the midst of all that commotion, he must have been crying out to God fervently in his heart with faith, because the Lord said to him, "Why are you crying out to me?" (Ex 14:15a).

Another example that Matthew Henry cited was the time when Hannah was earnestly praying to God, and her lips were moving, but no sound was coming out. "Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, 'How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.' But Hannah replied, 'No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation." (1Sa 1:12-16). That's a great definition of heart-prayer, which illustrates what this intercession of the Spirit for us in our hearts may actually look like sometimes. It could be completely silent, except to the one praying, who is aware of the deep cries within his or her heart, and to the Lord who hears that silent prayer, as well as to the angels who are involved in carrying our prayers to God.

Another example from Scripture of heart-prayers is the time when Abraham's servant was sent back to get a wife for Isaac. The servant said, “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’" (Gen 24:45, NIV). The actual prayer that he prayed in his heart is found in verses 42 to 44. It was not a short prayer either, but it was definitely inaudible.

Here's another one you may not have noticed before in the gospels, regarding what happened when Jesus met the demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes. "When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!' For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man." (Lk 8:27-29a, NIV).

In this passage, notice that it says the reason the demon inside the man caused him to cry out at the top of his voice, begging Jesus not to torture him, was that Jesus "had commanded" the impure spirit to come out of the man. However, as with the silent prayer of Moses referred to in Exodus 14:15, there is no record quoting the Lord's actual command to the impure spirit to come out of the man, as we see in other passages, but only a retrospective statement about it after the fact. It's my opinion that Jesus in his heart may have commanded the demon to come out of the man without doing so out loud. While others around Him didn't hear it, the demon did!

My Experience
I had an experience like this one time. I used to work as a bellman in a four diamond hotel when I was in graduate school studying Missiology or World Missions in the Regent University School of Divinity. This particular time there was a guest who called himself "Michaelangelo," who was staying by himself at the hotel. He began acting bizarrely not long after he checked in. I was standing in front of the bell stand in the large front lobby of the hotel next to my fellow bellman John. We were looking directly across at the front desk on the other side of the lobby, where one of the female front desk clerks was standing. John was also in graduate school, but he was studying psychology in the School of Counseling.

At that point, I recall that "Michaelangelo" the guest came around the corner into the lobby and I believe he spit his room key out of his mouth onto the front desk counter top. As he was interacting with the front desk lady, which I believe was about some complaint of his, John was evaluating him out loud to me in a low voice. He was seeking to diagnose the man's psychological problem. Perhaps he was diagnosing the man as schizophrenic and/or having obsessive-compulsive disorder. On the other hand, my approach was to view things as Jesus did from a spiritual perspective, and I sensed that this man was demon possessed, but I kept that to myself. I simply looked right at the man from across the room as he stood at the front desk, and in my heart I silently but authoritatively commanded the demon in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of him. However, I was not scowling at him or making any kind of angry expression.

At that point, as if the man actually heard me, he looked at me and came right over to me, challenging me belligerently to my face. He was a little shorter than me, so as he stood closely right in front of me just inches from my chest, he looked up at me and commanded me to tell him my name. He said something like, "What is your name? I command you to tell me your name!" I maintained my peace and the professional servant-to-guest demeanor, but I referred to my name printed on my name tag attached to my uniform and I called him "sir." I didn't back down or back away from him a single inch, despite his intimidation tactics. Then he began to say, "I don't like you!" He looked at John the student of psychology and said, "I like you," then he looked back at me he said, "but I don't like you." Eventually he went away and the front desk lady commended me for maintaining my peace and not being afraid of him. The police ended up being called in to deal with something going on in the man's room, and I cannot recall if he was suicidal or what. But that seems to come to mind for some reason.

My point in telling that story is that although I had not said a word out loud, in my heart I silently commanded that demon to come out of the man, and I believe the demon inside him heard me loud and clear. As a side note, I also found it interesting that the demon in him liked the person who was studying psychology, but it didn't like me who was operating in the supernatural power of the Spirit. I have never forgotten that incident, and it seems to me that it was a clear example of a heart-prayer assisted by the Holy Spirit. That's why I tend to think this is what Jesus did to the demon inside the man in the region of the Gaderenes. In other places in Scripture, we see the words recorded that Jesus spoke to the demons, but in this passage, it only refers to Jesus' command after the fact by saying, "For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man."

Here is another example of heart-prayer from the gospels. This time it's from the incident when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. "So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.' When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go.'” (Jn 11:41-44, NIV).

I want you to notice the part that says, "Then Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.'" This means that Jesus had prayed to the Father in His heart silently, and when He thanked the Father for hearing Him, He only did so for the benefit of those watching. The reason it benefited them was that they could not hear His silent heart-prayer to the Father, and by His thanking the Father for hearing that silent prayer, it helped them to believe that that the Father had sent Him when they saw Him raise Lazarus from the dead.

He Perceives Our Thoughts
According to King David, the Lord knows our deepest thoughts. He said, "You perceive my thoughts from afar...Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely." (Ps 139:2b, 4). That means that you can communicate heart to heart and thought to thought with Him without even speaking the words out loud with your mouth. He already knows what you're going to say before you say it. There are times when this type of heart-prayer is all you are able to do, either because of the place you find yourself in, where you are not free to pray out loud, such as when you are sharing Jesus with a non-believer, or because you are unable to speak, or because you don't know how you should pray. In moments like these, all you may be able to do is to cry out to Him in your heart, and He hears it.

According to the will of God
In the verse following our main text, it says that the Spirit always prays according to the will of God. Paul wrote, "And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Rom 8:27). That's another great benefit of this intercession of the Spirit in our hearts. As Matthew Henry says, "The Spirit in the heart never contradicts the Spirit in the word. Those desires that are contrary to the will of God do not come from the Spirit. The Spirit interceding in us evermore melts our wills into the will of God. Not as I will, but as thou wilt." According to the apostle John, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Therefore, God always hears these prayers of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Praying in the Spirit

One more way that the Spirit's intercession in our hearts for us may be manifested is by praying in the Spirit. I realize that some people reading this have never spoken in tongues, so they cannot relate to this or understand exactly what it is, but I and many others who have received the promised baptism with the Holy Spirit have experienced it first hand and know it well (Lk 11:13; 24:49; Ac 1:8; 2:4, 16-18). Not everyone has the gift of tongues in the sense of delivering messages publicly in a known or unknown language that they have never learned to speak (1 Co 12:10; 14:26). Whenever someone does so, there needs to be someone with the gift of interpretation of tongues to deliver the message to the people in a language they can understand (1 Co 14:27). But the Lord does give us a prayer language that we can use in our prayer time to communicate directly with Him and edify ourselves (1 Co 14:4).

Paul spoke of it quite a bit in his epistles. He wrote, "For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries...One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself...Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues...For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also...I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all." (1Co 14:2, 4a, 5a, 14-15, 18). He also wrote, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." (Eph 6:18). Jude wrote, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit," (Jud 1:20). Therefore, we know that there is something called praying in the Spirit, and one way this happens is, as Paul said, praying in a tongue. When I pray in a tongue (i.e., pray in tongues), my spirit prays, but my mind does not understand what I am saying. The Spirit prays through me to the Father, making intercession for me and those I am praying for. This enables us to effectively pray the will of God when we know not how we should pray or what we should pray.

Closing Words
As we can see from Scripture, because of our weaknesses, we don't know how we should pray. God has graciously provided the saints with the help of the Spirit, who heaves with us, "hyper-praying" on our behalf with groanings too deep for words. This is a marvelous service that He provides! It has many applications, including silent heart-prayers, sighs, groans, calling out His name, and even praying in tongues. The Holy Spirit cooperates with us as we pray, and He knows exactly how to pray according to the will of God. Let me encourage you to fully take advantage of all the Lord has provided for you as a believer. Don't miss out on anything the Lord has for you.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. The artwork of a woman praying in her closet is by my daughter Charity Lacroix, and you can find more of her artwork and calligraphy at A Brush with Life.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: Who Intercedes for Us, Crying Out to God Loudly, Lifting Your Face in Prayer, Lifting Hands in Prayer, and Baptized with the Holy Spirit. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

David, A Man After God's Own Heart

We read in the book of Acts that the apostle Paul said, "After removing Saul, [God] made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’" (Ac 13:22, NIV; c.f., 1 Sam 13:14). Have you ever wondered why God considered David a man after His own heart, despite his failures? In this article, I'd like to explore the reasons why God so esteemed him, and in doing so to show the character traits we should earnestly desire to have, if we would aspire to be men and women after God's own heart as he was.

Devoted to His Will

The first reason why David was esteemed by God that way was that he would do everything the Lord wanted him to do. That was the explicit reason God Himself cited (1 Sam 13:14). As a man who was fully devoted to the Lord His God (1 Ki 15:3), he was surrendered to the will of God, or you could say he had given himself over to it, which was in stark contrast to Saul, who at best only partially obeyed the Lord.

King David Playing the Harp
by Gerard van Honthorst

David did not fail to keep the Lord's commands. "For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord's commands all the days of his life -- except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." (1 Ki 15:5 cf., 1Ki 11:34, 38; 14:8, NIV). Any understanding of being a man or woman after God's own heart is truly incomplete that does not take into account the need to do what is right in His eyes and obey His commands.

The Psalms provide us with a very good picture of David's attitude in this respect. David wrote, "Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, 'Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.'" (Psa 40:6-8). Aside from the fact that this is a Messianic prayer that prophetically describes Christ's attitude toward the Father, it was David's attitude as well. His desire was to do God's will. It was like the slave that says to his master, "Your wish is my command." In other words, if the master even wishes for something, I will act upon it as if it were a command.

We see an actual example of such an instance when David once wished for water from the well in his hometown, and his three mighty men jumped at the opportunity to satisfy his desire, even risking their lives to do so. Scripture states: "David had a craving and said, 'Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!' So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; and he said, 'Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?' Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did." (2 Sa 23:15-17). While David did not expect them to do that, they loved him so much they were willing to risk their own lives to fulfill his desire. That's the attitude that David had toward God.

Referring to Christ, the apostle quoted Psalm 40 in Hebrews when he wrote, "Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure.' Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.' After saying above, 'Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:5-10)

The reason for the difference of wording from Psalm 40 is that the apostle in Hebrews quoted from the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. In quoting this, the apostle shows that this was the attitude of Christ toward the Father: "Behold, I have come to do your will." In saying so, He declared His purpose in life, which should also be my purpose and yours if we desire to be men and women after God's own heart.

That's exactly what the apostle Peter taught, saying that we should live the rest of our lives on earth for the will of God. He wrote: "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." (1Pe 4:1-2).

Likewise, the apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian church to "find out what pleases the Lord." (Eph 5:10, NIV). He told them, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." (Eph 5:17). We, too, should find out what pleases the Lord and understand what His will is.

As Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, "He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2Co 5:15). In saying this, he taught that everyone who is alive on earth should live for Christ and not for himself.

Moreover, the apostle John taught the same thing when he wrote, "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1Jn 2:17). This shows that doing the will of God is necessary for eternal life. Some people would baulk at that, but isn't that what the Lord taught? He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7:21, NIV).

For more on the topics covered in this section, please see Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Pleasing the Lord, The Way, Will, and Word of God, Obedient to the Heavenly Vision, Is Obedience Optional?, The Obedience of Faith, Doing What is Right and Righteous Deeds and White Robes.

Following the Lord with All His Heart
Another reason why David was considered a man after God's own heart is that he followed the Lord with all his heart, doing what was right in God's eyes. God said:

"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes." (1Ki 14:8).

Anyone who desires to be a man after God's own heart must follow the Lord with all his heart. The Lord Jesus says to us "Come, follow Me," and He has set an example for us, that we should follow in His steps (Mt 4:19; 1 Pe 2:21).

For more on that topic, please see Following in His Steps.

Knowing the Lord
Another reason why David was considered a man after God's own heart was that he knew the Lord. I don't mean a mere head knowledge, but an intimately personal knowledge. He knew the Lord as his shepherd (Ps 23:1), his sustainer (Ps 54:4), his fountain (Ps 68:26), his rock (Ps 28:1; 31:3), his strength (Ps 18:1; 59:17), his shield (Ps 3:3), his fortress (Ps 31:3), his stronghold (Ps 59:17), his deliverer (Ps 40:13,17; 41:1; 68:20; 70:5), his comforter (Ps 86:17), his Lord (Ps 38:22; 51:15), and his Savior (Ps 38:22; 55:16; 68:19). When you know the Lord this way, it's more than just information about Him that you know, but rather you have a personal relationship with Him.

The Scripture says that Adam knew Eve, and she conceived and bore him a son (Gen 4:1). The Hebrew word for "knew" in this passage is "yada" meaning "to know", which indicates that Adam had intimate relations with his wife. God desires to have a very close and personal relationship with each one of us as well, which is how we will come to know Him and take His heart for our very own.

The apostle teaches us that this is the way it is for each of us who enter into the New Covenant with the Lord. "No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." (Heb 8:11, NIV).

In His high priestly prayer on the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (Joh 17:3). This means that the very essence of eternal life is to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. What could be more essential to seeking after God's own heart?

John affirmed the need to know God and His Son in order to have eternal life. He wrote: "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." (1Jn 5:20)

When we know the Lord, God sheds His love abroad in our hearts, and we receive in our hearts the same love that He has for Jesus. For Jesus prayed, "And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (Joh 17:26)

Conversely, those who do not know the Lord do not have eternal life, but are destroyed. Paul said, "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2 Thes 1:8-10, NIV).

For more on this, please see Knowing the Lord, From Religion to Relationship, and Having the Love of God in Your Heart.

Being Made Holy
A third reason why David was called a man after God's own heart was that he desired to be holy, which is something we should all desire and strive for.

Going back to the Hebrews passage I cited earlier, it states, "Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.'...And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:9-10). This teaches us that by the very will of God, which Jesus came to do, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of His body, if we have put our faith in Him to save us. This places the process of being made holy in the past tense ("we have been made holy"), which means it is a completed work of sanctification.

However, the apostle goes on to say, "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Heb 10:14, NIV). This means that by Christ's sacrifice on the cross, He has already made us perfect forever (past tense), provided that we are being made holy (present tense). Here we see that while we already have been made holy and made perfect, we are also being made holy. So it is both a past, completed event and an ongoing present process of sanctification. The past event was our positional sanctification in the sight of God through faith in Christ, but the ongoing sanctification is the practical kind that is worked out and evidenced in our everyday attitudes and behaviors.

This practical sanctification is essential, if we ever hope to see God. The apostle stated, "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14, NIV). So while we are already made holy in the positional sense, through our faith in Christ, we must make every effort to be holy, which refers to the practical holiness without which no man shall see the Lord's face.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thes 5:23-24, NIV).

While we understand that even the best are only sanctified in part, we also realize that we need to pray for God to sanctify us wholly in every part of our being -- body, soul, and spirit. He will do it, so that we will be kept blameless at the coming of Christ. To this end the Lord prayed for us saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth." (Jn 17:17, NIV).

Another passage that teaches us about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is found in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. He stated: "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." (2Th 2:13)

Certainly Scripture teaches us that sanctification is a work of God by His Spirit inside of the believer, but that does not eliminate our involvement in the process. Paul said, "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (2 Cor 7:1, NIV). He clearly taught that we each have an active role in purifying ourselves and perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This demonstrates that we are in fact a man or woman after God's own heart.

For more on this, please see Holy Living in a Perverted World, Aim for Perfection, Called to be Blameless, The Knowledge of the Holy, and Walking in Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness.

Shepherding with Integrity
A fourth reason why David was called a man after God's own heart was that he was a man of integrity. The Scripture says, "And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them." (Ps 78:72, NIV). What's needed today are cross-bearing people, who will shepherd God's people with integrity of heart and lead them with skillful hands. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It's easy to find those who claim to be leaders that have plenty of head knowledge, including the knowledge of Scripture, and those with charismatic personalities who are great public speakers. But it's much more rare to find men and women of integrity who lead with skillful hands, whether they be those who have authority in the church, or those who are business leaders, or even those in the political arena. It's been said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and we have plenty of examples of that in both the church and the secular world. Yet David did not let himself become corrupted when God granted him power and authority as king.

Moreover, he actually shepherded the people, which is not just teaching them or telling them what to do. It's not lording it over others. To shepherd people is to care for them, pray for them, guide them, feed them, nurture them, serve them, facilitate their growth, prepare them for service, and lead them by godly example, so that they will one day enter the kingdom of heaven. This too, is something that is more difficult to find today in churches. It's more common to find pastors who act like CEOs of big businesses in corporate America. How we need true shepherds once again to shepherd the people of God and equip them for works of service, which is God's own heart!

Receiving His Mercy
Although David was a man of integrity, shepherding the people, leading them with skillful hands, devoted to doing God's will, knowing the Lord, and becoming holy, he still fell short of God's glory like the rest of us, and needed God's mercy. He would have been a much better example for us if he had not fallen into adultery with Bathsheba, and his own life would have been better for it, too. But then we might assume that the reason he was a man after God's own heart was that he was so perfect and without sin in his life. So the Lord used even his great sin to teach us something. We learn from it that in our pursuit of doing God's will, knowing Him, and becoming holy, that if we sin, we, too, will need to receive God's mercy.

David prayed, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (Ps 51:1-2, NIV). While he could not undo the sin he had committed, he knew he must repent and seek forgiveness from God. He sought hard after God for mercy to wipe out his transgressions, wash away all his iniquity, and cleanse him from his sin. That's the example we need to follow, too, if we would be a man or woman after God's own heart.

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:16). We should always know that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One (1 Jn 2:1), so we can approach the throne with confidence, because it's a throne of grace. There we can find mercy to help us.

"Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts  I will remember no more.' And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." (Heb 10:17-18). When you have been forgiven of sins and lawless acts, the Lord remembers them no more. At that point, it's no longer necessary to offer any sacrifice for sin. The price has been paid at the cross for us by Jesus Christ. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom 8:1). Don't let the devil beat you up and heap condemnation on you. Instead, repent and go to the throne of grace, asking for mercy and grace. Then receive it from the Lord. Jesus said, "But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mt 9:13, NIV).

For more on this, please see and God Forgives and Forgets.

Finding His Grace
Just as David cried out for God's mercy, he also relied on God's grace as well. This, too, was part of being a man after God's own heart. Here are some of the prayers he prayed regarding God's grace:

"As for me, I said, 'O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.'" (Psa 41:4)

"But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them." (Psa 41:10).

"Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long." (Psa 86:3)

"But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid." (Psa 86:15-16)

This unwavering trust that David had in God's grace is an important part of how he sought after the heart of God. Likewise, we too, must boldly approach the throne of grace to find grace to help us in our time of need (He 4:16).

The apostle said, "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin." (Heb 10:18). While receiving forgiveness is a result of God's mercy, it is His grace that frees us from ever having to make any sacrifice for our sins. Once a person is forgiven, he no longer needs to offer a sacrifice for his sins. For to do so would be to question God's grace and seek to earn His forgiveness.

Paul taught that "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us." (Eph 1:7-8a). It's always according to the riches of His grace, which He gave to us in such large measure.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9). The meaning of this Scripture is self-evident, that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. Even the best reach heaven by the grace of God, because even they are not good enough to earn their way in by their own merits. Someone said, "You can't earn God's love. You can only accept it."

In David's case, as I have said, it would have been better for him if he had not committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband Uriah, but once he realized his sin and repented, the grace of God was sufficient for his need. Although his sin increased, the grace of God increased even more. As Paul said, "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." (Rom 5:20).

If you have never experienced the grace of God like that, then let me tell you that there is no time like the present to do so. "As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor 6:1-2). You may not have tomorrow, but you have today, and now is the time to seek God's favor and receive His grace in your life.

For more on this please see By Grace Alone and Amazing Grace.

Putting it All Together
In our look at the life of David, we've discovered that there were several reasons why God considered him a man after His own heart. He was full devoted to the Lord his God and to doing His will, he was obedient to the Lord, he followed the Lord with all his heart, doing what was right in God's eyes, he shepherded God's people with integrity of heart, he led them with skillful hands, he knew the Lord personally, he desired to become a holy and godly man, yet he also knew how to receive mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need. May the Lord help each one of us to have these same outstanding characteristics in our own lives, so that we too may be men, women, and children after God's own heart.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan. The painting of King David Playing the Harp by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.

Author's note:  Also see Aim for Perfection, Knowing the Lord, The Knowledge of the Holy, Is Obedience Optional?, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Pleasing the Lord, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Called to be Blameless, A Tale of Two Kings, Sin and Consequence, God Forgives and Forgets, By Grace Alone, Amazing Grace,and From Religion to Relationship. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Songs of the Holy Fire

It amazes me sometimes how opposed to the holy fire people can be, especially Christians. It proves just how much the devil hates the holy fire, which I wrote about in my previous article, Holy Fire Baptism.

Yet those same people who say it is unbiblical have probably been singing songs about the holy fire for years, and they never had a problem with the lyrics. But now that it is being emphasized as an important baptism to receive, they have rejected it. Let me share some of these wonderful lyrics about the holy fire that have been put to music over the years.

The Old Hymns
We'll first start with the hymns, since they were the oldest and came first.

Search Me, O God
In Search Me O God, James E. Orr wrote in 1936:

"I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
Grant my desire to magnify Thy name."

See lyrics to the song here.

I Surrender All
In I Surrender All , written by Judson W. Van DeVenter in 1896, it says,

"All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His name!"

Come, Jesus, Lord, with Holy Fire
Charles Wesley (1707-1788), the brother of John Wesley, wrote in his song Come, Jesus, Lord, with Holy Fire:

"Come, Jesus, Lord, with holy fire,
Come, and my quickened heart inspire,
My conscience purged by blood;
Now to my soul Thyself reveal,
Thy mighty working let me feel,
Since I am born of God."

Faith, Hope, and Love
The last verse of a hymn called Faith, Hope, and Love, written by Neal A. McAulay (1854-1928), and composed by Charles H. Gabriel, says:

"O God of grace, inspire my love!
Fill my cold heart with holy fire,
That I may live each passing day
As my Redeemer doth desire."

My Faith Looks Up to Thee
I especially like this song, My Faith Looks Up to Thee, written by Ray Palmer in 1830, because my wife chose this one as her bridal procession song at our wedding, to which she walked down the aisle. It goes like this:

"May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!"

The Fire is Burning
A hymn called The Fire is Burning, written by Johnson Oatman Jr. (1898) and music composed by George C. Hugg, has the repeating line, "And my soul is burning with the fire." The refrain goes like this:

"O the fire is burning, yes, ’tis brightly burning,
O ’tis burning, burning in my soul;
O the fire is burning, yes, ’tis brightly burning,
O ’tis burning, burning in my soul."

As one of the lines in the songs says, "God's love is like a heavenly flame." Is the fire brightly burning in your soul? Does the flame consume you while you pray?

O God of Burning Altar Fire
The first stanza of an old hymn called O God of Burning Altar Fire, written by Amy Carmichael
and arranged by Robert A. Schumann, says:

"O God of burning altar fire,
O God of love’s consuming flame,
Make pure the flame of our desire
To win the lost to seek Thy Name."

Revive Us Again
The last line of the hymn Revive Us Again, written by William Mackay in 1863 says,

"Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above."

I Will Praise Him
One of the lines in the hymn I Will Praise Him, written by Margaret Harris in 1898 says:

"Then God’s fire upon the altar
Of my heart was set aflame;
I shall never cease to praise Him
Glory, glory to His name!"

O For That Flame of Living Fire
An old hymn called O For That Flame of Living Fire, written by William H. Bathurst in 1831, says:

"O for that flame of living fire,
Which shone so bright in saints of old!
Which bade their souls to Heav’n aspire,
Calm in distress, in danger bold."

God Sent His Mighty Pow’r
A hymn called God sent His mighty pow’r, written by Delia T. White and musically composed by William James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921), says:

God sent His mighty pow’r
To this poor, sinful heart,
To keep me every hour,
And needful grace impart;
And since His Spirit came,
To take supreme control,
The love-enkindled flame
Is burning in my soul.

’Tis burning in my soul,
’Tis burning in my soul;
The fire of heav’nly love is
burning in my soul;
The Holy Spirit came,
All glory to His name!
The fire of heav’nly love is
burning in my soul.

Before the cross I bow,
Upon the altar lay
A willing off’ring now,
My all from day to day.
My Savior paid the price,
My name He sweetly calls;
Upon the sacrifice
The fire from heaven falls.

No good that I have done,
His promise I embrace;
Accepted in the Son,
He saves me by His grace.
All glory be to God!
Let hallelujahs roll;
His love is shed abroad,
The fire is in my soul.

My spirit, soul, and body
Another hymn called My spirit, soul, and body, written by Mary Dagworthy James (1810-1883)
and musically composed by Phoebe Palmer Knapp (1839-1908), says:

"I’m Thine, O dear Lord Jesus,
Washed in Thy precious blood,
Sealed by Thy Holy Spirit,
A sacrifice to God. My all is on the altar;
I’m waiting for the fire;
I’m waiting, waiting, waiting;
I’m waiting for the fire."

Revive Thy work, O Lord
A hymn called Revive Thy work, O Lord!, written by Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) and musically composed by William Howard Doane (1832-1915), says:

"Revive Thy work, O Lord!
And every soul inspire;
Oh, kindle in each heart, we pray,
The Pentecostal fire!

Revive Thy work, O Lord!
Exalt Thy precious name!
And may Thy love in every heart
Be kindled to a flame!"

​Keep the Incense Burning
A hymn called Keep the Incense Burning, written by Margaret E. Barber (1869-1930) and musically composed by Edgar Walser, says:

"'Keep the incense burning'
On the altar fire;
Let thy heart’s petition,
Let thy deep desire,
Be a cloud of incense
Wreathing God’s own throne,
Till His will among us
Shall be fully done.

'Keep the incense burning'
On the altar fire;
Feed the flame, Lord Jesus,
Till Thy whole desire
Shall in us, Thy children,
Find free course, and be
Breathed through lips anointed
For this ministry.

'Keep the incense burning'
Though thy faith be weak;
Though in words thou canst not
All thy longing speak;
Silent heart-petitions,
Spirit-taught, will be
Gloriously answered;
Wrought by God for thee.

'Keep the incense burning,'
Hourly let it rise,
Till from opened heavens,
Till from flame-swept skies,
Fire shall fall and kindle
All hearts to a flame;
Making us a glory
To our Savior’s name."

Send the Fire
Another old hymn called Send the Fire, with words by William Booth (1894) and music by Frederick Booth-Tucker, hearkens back to the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. It refers to the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire as a blood- bought gift and goes like this:

"Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Thy blood bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost;
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

’Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
O see us on Thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day;
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!"

What a wonderful prayer that song makes, as we cry out to God for the holy fire.

Contemporary Worship
Now that I have shown you some of the old hymns that sang about the holy fire, let's look at the contemporary worship songs next.

Oh Lord, You're Beautiful
One of my favorites is the song by Keith Green, Oh Lord, You're Beautiful, in which he sings:

"Oh Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clean
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear"

What a beautiful prayer that you can pray to God, as you seek the fire of God. It's bright and clean, the lamp of your first love for Jesus, which burns with holy fear.

Fire of God
Then there is the Vineyard song called Fire of God written by Craig Musseau. In this song, Eddie Espinosa sings:

"Fire of God, burn away what is not holy
Jesus, take our hearts and make them new."

That's what the holy fire does inside of us, it burns away what is not holy.

Refiner's Fire
One of Brian Doerksen's songs called Refiner's Fire says:

"Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within"

Brian Doerksen, the writer of this song, said: "This song was both a gift, because the inspiration came so strong, as well as a challenge to me over and over again. It’s really about the bride getting herself ready and desiring purity for the wedding day ... and when I struggle with temptation I find this song is on my lips and helps bring me back to my deepest desire ... to be set apart for God."

I also encourage you to listen to this brief excerpt with Brian about how the Lord inspired him to write this song.

Holy Fire
Another Vineyard song is called Holy Fire. It says:

"Holy fire from heaven
Descend to us we pray
Let us burn again
Holy fire from heaven
Consume our hearts today
Let us burn again, let us burn again."

Lord, Light the Fire Again
Here is another Vineyard song about the fire of God:

"Don't let our love grow cold
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

Don't let our vision die
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

You know our hearts, my deeds
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

I need Your discipline
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

I am here to buy gold
Refined in the fire
Naked and poor
Wretched and blind I come
Clothe me in white
So I won't be ashamed
Lord, light the fire again"

Light the Fire in My Heart Again
Another Vineyard song called Light the Fire in My Heart Again says:

"So light the fire in my soul
Fan the flame
Make me whole
Lord, you know where I've been
So light the fire in my heart once again"

Holy Spirit Come With Your Fire
An English Christian devotional song says:

"Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, come with Your fire
Holy Spirit come with your fire
Holy Spirit come with your fire
Come, Holy Spirit, let Your fire fall
Come, Holy Spirit, let Your fire fall
Let Your fire fall
Let Your fire fall
Let Your fire fall."

All Consuming Fire
A Hosanna Integrity song written by Randy Wright and sung by Kent Henry called All Consuming Fire says:

"All consuming fire
You're my heart's desire
And I love You dearly, dearly Lord
You're my meditation
And my consolation
And I love You dearly, dearly Lord."

Zion, Holy Mountain, Holy City
A song by Ann Liddell called Zion, Holy Mountain, Holy City says:

And I have counted the cost
I want to leave all this behind
I want to drink from your cup
And be baptized in your fire.

O Lord, Tell Us What You Need
A song by John David Coupland called O Lord, Tell Us What You Need says:

"Oh Lord, tell us what You need.
Oh Lord, we’ll follow where You lead.
You own the Sun, the Moon, the sky, the rain,
The hills and valleys call Your name,Yet still there is one thing that You desire.

Till every heart that beats is truly Yours,
And every tongue that speaks is truly pure,
There burns within Your breast this holy fire.
We are Your desire.
Alleluia, alleluia."

Refiner's Fire
There is another song called Refiner's Fire written by Randall Dennis and Jon Mohr, and sung by Steve Green, which goes like this:

"There burns a fire with sacred heat
White hot with holy flame
And all who dare pass through its blaze
Will not emerge the same
Some as bronze, and some as silver
Some as gold, then with great skill
All are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will

Chorus:
The Refiner’s fire
Has now become my souls desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner’s fire

I’m learning now to trust His touch
To crave the fire’s embrace
For though my past with sin was etched
His mercies did erase
Each time His purging cleanses deeper
I’m not sure that I’ll survive
Yet the strength in growing weaker
Keeps my hungry soul alive"

Holy Fire: Keep Me Burning

I have written and produced a song called Holy Fire: Keep Me Burning, several years after initially writing this article.

Verse 2:

Let holy fire consume my heart, 

The Spirit's flame You'll now impart.

Lord, You came to cast fire on the earth, 

You brought my soul to a second birth.

Like the pillar that guided by night,

Make my heart Your dwelling of light.

Bridge:

Though the world rejects the holy flame,

Let Your fire in us remain.

In holy fear we kneel in awe,

Before Consuming Fire enthroned.

Spirit of Grace, O holy flame,

Kindle a love that bears Your name.

Putting it All Together
As you can see, the holy fire is not a new idea that someone recently came up with, nor is it a false teaching from some strange heretic preaching doctrines of demons. It is a wonderful gift of God that is promised for all the saints who truly love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and follow Him. The saints have been singing about this for centuries, as well as praying for it and receiving it. If you are a disciple of Christ who has never received it before, I encourage you to ask and receive today. If you have already received the holy fire, then let me encourage you to keep crying out for more until Jesus comes back for His Bride. As you do so, I hope these song lyrics will help you.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like my other post called Holy Fire: Keep Me Burning, Holy Fire Baptism, as well as The Burning Ones, The Happy Hunters on Fire, The Refiner's Fire, and The Fiery Sufferings of the Believer. These are all part of The Holy Fire Series, where you will find more edifynig articles about the holy fire. You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Attribution Notice: All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. All lyrics provided for educational and commentary purposes only. 1) Oh Lord, You're Beautiful, written by Keith Green, Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group; 2) Fire of God written by Craig Musseau, Copyright © 1990 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured., 3) Holy Fire, written by Steve Mitchinson and Brian Doerksen, Copyright © 1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire), International copyright secured. All rights reserved. To reproduce this music setting for church usage, both a Church Copyright Licencse and a Music Reproduction License are required. To obtain a license or for further information visit www.ccli.com; 4) My Faith Looks Up to Thee is in the public domain; 5) Search Me O God is in the public domain; 6) All Consuming Fire copyright© 1987 Integrity's Hosanna! Music; 7) Refiner's Fire written by Brian Doerksen, copyright © 1997 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured; 8) O For That Flame of Living Fire is in the public domain; 9) Refiner's Fire written by Randall Dennis and Jon Mohr, 1989 © Jonathan Mark Music; 10) The Fire is Burning is in the public domain; 11) O God of Burning Altar Fire, is in the public domain; 11) Faith, Hope, and Love is in the public domain. See The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.