The Furnace Room

The power went out.
It had snowed all through the night.
I knew that my husband would probably work from home.
I knew that I could sleep a bit longer.

He had gotten up to check the weather since the snow had not started until early morning.
Apparently, he got into the shower.
As he was  showering, the power went out.
Having well water, we lose everything in a power outage.

No electricity means no lights, no water, and no heat.
My husband called the power company and reported the outage.
In a less than a half hour, we received a text message.
The message informed us of the problem and the time the power would be restored.

Thankfully, we have a propane fireplace.
My husband and I settled in the family room and read.
Warm by the fire, we were unaware that the rest of the house was getting cold.
We were by the fire’s heat so the cold did not bother us.

Charles Spurgeon was a great revival preacher.
He would not take the credit for the revival that was happening around him.
When visitors would come to his church, he would take them to the basement.
There in the basement, the visitors would see people on their knees in prayer.

The people were praying for the souls of the people who were upstairs in the church.
The people were praying for the souls of the people that had never stepped foot inside a church.
The people were praying for Charles Spurgeon himself as he preached God’s Word.
The people were fervently praying.

To Spurgeon, the prayer meeting was the most important meeting of the week.
The prayer meeting was the powerhouse of the church, according to Spurgeon.
Spurgeon called this basement room, the furnace room.
Spurgeon said that it was this room and not his preaching that brought about revival.

Prayer meetings are the throbbing machinery of the church, according to Spurgeon.
Those are strong words from this great preacher.
Spurgeon knew that nothing happens apart from prayer.
Nothing.

When we lose power, everything stops.
Gone are the days of cooking over an open hearth.
Gone are the days of using a hand pump to get water from a spring.
Gone are the days of small cabins that a single fireplace could easily heat.

When we lose power, everything stops.
We only got about 3-4 inches of snow.
However, the snow was heavy and proved to be too much for some tree limbs.
When a tree limb falls on top of a wire, the connection is broken and the power is lost.

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Nothing happens apart from prayer.
Nothing.
If Jesus, God’s Son, could spend an entire night in prayer, why do we find it so difficult?
We get distracted, our minds wander, and we end our prayer time before it even begins.

The enemy would love nothing more.
If the enemy of our souls can stop us from praying, he has taken away our greatest weapon.
When we pray, we are the furnace room.
We are the throbbing machinery of the Church.

People struggle with prayer because the Person they are praying to is unseen.
They feel as if they are speaking into the air.
They feel as if their prayers are all one-sided.
They forget that God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

Our all knowing, all present, all powerful God hears our prayers.
Our prayers are not one-sided.
God speaks through His Word.
When we pray God’s Word back to Him, He is delighted.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
(Romans 8:26)

When the power goes out in a storm, a connection is broken.
Perhaps the wind or a fallen tree limb broke the connection.
In order for power to be restored, the line has to be reconnected.
Once the line is reconnected, the electricity can flow through the wire without hindrance.

Sin in our lives breaks the connection between us and God.
Failure to pray breaks the connection as well.
We know how far apart two friends can become when they have not talked in a while.
It is the same with God.

God the Father is the One to whom we pray.
God the Son is the Name in which we pray.
God the Spirit is the Intercessor who helps us in our prayer.
The Trinity, the Three in One.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation. 

Remembering the old Irish prayer, The Lorica of St. Patrick, I understand the furnace room.
Through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness.
Prayer is what powers everything we do.
Prayer keeps the connection intact.

Prayer is the furnace room.
Prayer is the throbbing machinery.
Prayer is the source of our power.
Prayer ensures that the line of communication between us and God is not broken.

 

2 responses to “The Furnace Room”

1. Praise God. I’m blessed by this message. God bless you

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   • I am delighted you were blessed, Anne.
     Gina

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