1117 and 1147

The Lord reminds me every time I see these numbers to pray, because Mark 11:17 says, "... my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations..." 

And 1147 (24-7, 11 being roman numeral): Jeremiah 24:7 "I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart." Check out the movement of 24-7 prayer (specifically the boiler rooms) and the International House of Prayer (IHOP)

Here's the model of Norman Community Church: "UP, IN, and OUT"

UP: PRAYER. Our personal interactive relationship to the Lord. He is jealous for all of our individual hearts, and we must be constantly submitting complete selves to Him.

IN: HOUSE. Our relationships with other believers- the church. We must be one body as a community, seeking the Lord with a flowing heart that is being purged of evil that may exist.

OUT: NATIONS. Our relationships with 'people of peace', or non-believers that have welcomed us into their lives. Also the names of people whose names are written on Heaven's wailing wall, as ones we are to be contending for as intercessors for the Kingdom.

There have been a few times (such as when a few of my close friends are together) where I will see this number and turn and call us to a time to pray and sit before the Lord, asking for Him to do His work in us. This happened a couple weeks ago, and when we sat in my room together doing this, God came and did just that- He actively gave us more of His heart and rid us more of ourselves.

If you feel the Lord calling you at a specific time to sit with Him and listen for His Heart, do it. He will always be faithful to us. If there is ever a problem in our relationship to the Lord, it's always on our end. Maybe our minds are too narrow to accept what is happening in our lives, maybe we are just not being patient with Him, maybe we have spent so much time away from the Lord that we've forgotten His Touch, His Voice, His Presence.

So even if it feels weird or empty, sit. Don't even conjure up words. Just BE with Him. That's the thing He's after, remember? He's Jealous for our hearts, not our actions, our rituals, our religion. God hates religion. He can't be shrunk down to our Sunday mornings, our early morning 'quiet times', our terms. You want to know God? Be ready to be ruined. Your plans will disappear. Your words will cease to exist. Your mind will be lost. You will have LOST YOUR MIND following Jesus. And that's exactly why it works. Because we don't. We can't be good. We can't do the right thing. The only time I do good is when the Person of Jesus reaches out from inside me and touches people who need Him. When He reaches through my arm and picks up my Bible for me to read. THAT is emptiness. THAT is what I need. I will say it every day of my life, Lord. RID ME OF MYSELF. I BELONG TO YOU.