Before my time of prayer today, I was worshipping the Lord and just listening to his voice. There have been many things that are heavy on my heart recently but I’m finding myself getting lost in His presence and not saying as much as I am listening. I’m sometimes finding myself longing for days gone by. Times when all I cared about was just meeting with God. I know as we get older, our responsibilities change and life creates demands on our time but I long for those times of simply saying, “I need to meet with God.” I’m learning that life will completely overshadow the discipline of being with Him if I let it. I have to make time regardless of anything else and even if I have to give up sleep, food, or friends.

I remember when God would call me into His presence and I would immediately go and hear His gentle voice speaking to me. It was nothing for me to just get in my car and drive because He said so. Even when I was with others I would step away because His voice was what I needed at that moment. Man cannot live by bread alone but by every Word that procedes from the mouth of God. I hungered for it. As the deer pants for the waters, so my soul longed after God.

Over the last 6 months or so I have been drawn back to something I’ve missed. It started with a mere desire to learn and grow. I was searching for revival in my own life and in my ministry. I believe revival is not what we should seek for in the sense that I’m not looking for an outward manifestation but when we seek God and draw near to Him, it creates a stirring within us. We can’t seek revival but instead seek the One who said He would quicken our mortal bodies. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

So while I’m searching with a hungry heart and a dry mouth, I’m hearing God speak in greater ways. Visions and dreams are commonplace. Something interesting is that I’m dreaming but not remembering the dream itself but instead a particular person is all that I remember. I see things even though I can’t see them in the natural. Believe me, I haven’t arrived but am merely surrendering myself and letting God do what God wants to do.

So in my worship today, I heard a song I haven’t heard yet. It’s fairly new but it spoke to me. I discovered Dante Bowe a few years ago when he teamed with Rita Springer to record There Is A Power. If you haven’t heard it, check it out. The song I heard today was called Old Church Basement. Wow! This words of this song reminded me of how I used to worship. If you’ve read any of this blog, you know that I can worship God to anything that exalts His name and is scripturally sound. However, I know that some songs/styles can bring our hearts to certain places. Just how scents or sounds can remind us of things, so can songs. This is one of those for me.

While not necessarily not a church basement for me, it did remind me of being at the front of the church and singing the songs of Zion for hours. It brought back to my memory times of being in a certain place and just being with my Savior and not caring about the time or even the song. I remember going to a meeting every couple of months and the speaker didn’t really have an agenda. He allowed the worship to proceed organically and when God said it was finished, then he would speak. We would simply meet with God.

Friend, where is that place of worship for you? Where do you find that peace and hope and joy that can’t be found anywhere else and from no one else but the Creator? Do you remember those times or maybe you never had them and you are hungering for it? I’m not giving you a formula other than just seek Him. Let Him be the One you meet. Don’t go into it thinking it will happen a certain way. Each of us is unique and Jesus knows how to get between the cracks in our walls and show up. Most importantly, just throw yourself at His feet without pride. Your pride will create an agenda which will hinder His presence. Don’t think about how it needs to happen and let Him make it happen. Get back to the Old Church Basement

I don’t see anything wrong with the lights or stages
I even love it when the crowd gets loud singing out God’s praises
But every now and then it can get a little complicated
So I remember when I was in that old church basement, singing

Hallelujah is all I need
When I think of your goodness and your love for me
Oh, the joy of my salvation
Is coming back to me
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

We got together every Wednesday night
About thirty teenagers
My friend Josh bought a cheap guitar and barely knew how to play it
He wasn’t putting on a show, wasn’t well known, wasn’t trying to be famous
But we sure touched heaven in that old church basement

Hallelujah is all I need
When I think of your goodness and your love for me
Oh, the joy of my salvation
Is coming back to me
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody
And I once was blind but now I can see
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody
Over the mountains and the sea Your river runs with love for me
An old hallelujah with a new melody
Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody

Hallelujah is all I need
When I think of your goodness and your love for me
Oh the joy of my salvation
Is coming back to me
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh
Halle, Yahweh

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Hallelujah is all I need
When I think of your goodness and your love for me
Oh, the joy of my salvation
Is coming back to me
It’s just an old hallelujah with a new melody
It’s the same hallelujah that the elders sing
And it’s the only hallelujah I will ever need