Simply Devotion

Tim Franklin,

Freedom Christian Center

At our next MyHOP gathering at Freedom Christian Center, on Friday October 7th, we will do something a little different during our first prayer target time. Typically we would begin the evening praying into a designated prayer target. But, on October 7th, we will begin by doing a devotional set.

What is a devotional set? I am so glad you ask! Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, (available free on line, is a dictionary with definitions of words prior to secular humanists taking God out of our educational books) defines devotional as: the state of being dedicated, consecrated, or solemnly set apart for a particular purpose. A solemn attention to the Supreme Being in worship; a yielding of the heart and affections to God, with reverence, faith and piety, in religious duties, particularly in prayer and meditation; devotedness. Therefore a devotional set will be a time in which we dedicate, consecrate, set ourselves apart to God for a particular purpose. As we consecrate ourselves, we will be giving to Him the affections of our heart.

What will this look like when its happening? Another great question! The worship team will be ministering to the Lord in simple songs that you will probably already know. They may be singing or they may just be playing. Either way, it will not be a time to pray at the mic as we usually do, but it will be a time to enter into His Presence. You may start by loving Him. You may need to start by confessing your own sin. The thrill of this is knowing that you are in a room full of other people who are doing the same! Each one wanting to be closer to God. Each one wanting to be more dedicated at a deeper level.

What do I do? Such great questions! Feel free to kneel, walk around, pray, sit and meditate, worship, dance before the Lord etc. Don’t draw attention to yourself or do things that will be disruptive to others who are connecting with God. You may simply choose to ‘soak’ in the Presence--just be still and know that He is God. There is momentum (forward movement with mass) when people of like mind and purpose gather to a God who desires to show himself strong!

See you at MyHOP, Friday October 7th, 7 p.m.

Spying on David

Tim Franklin
Freedom Christian Center


“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said...” 2 Samuel 7:18

The sound of these words, are so intriguing and at the same time, so humbling. To read any further makes me feel like I am almost spying on King David. Yet his actions are so deliberate and purposeful that I cannot just let him slip by. I must see where he goes. I must hear his conversations.

Oh, to live a life of prayer so natural, so communal before God, that others are drawn to follow, that they might hear the words of my heart before the Living God. Some would say it is an art to pray as David prays following this opening line. David was so incredibly humbled, by the goodness of God, that his prayers came dancing off his lips, driven by the song in his heart.

“Who am I Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” Now there is the voice of a man who is fully aware of the goodness of the Lord. He evidently feels he is getting something that he does not deserve. And, he is obviously overwhelmed by the kindness of the Lord―to him and to his family. David is experiencing gratitude as he comes in and sits before the Lord. He is like a playful child that wants to talk. He wants to be thankful. He wants to be appreciative. He wants to give back to the Blesser. The only words he can find in the midst of all the goodness of the Lord is, “Your name will be magnified forever!”

A house of prayer, a person of prayer, a church of prayer will have to begin at the place of humility before God that comes from having seen how much He has freely given us. It is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance. It is the mercy and goodness of the Lord that leads to humility that results in gratitude.

David was honoring God by going in to sit before him. Some of our greatest connections with God will happen when we just come and sit. You can sit and talk or you can just sit. There is no pressure to perform. Just an invitation to be yourself before your Father.

More followers of Christ would find greater joy in Father God if they just paused to remember how good He has been to them. He is faithful to His Word. His promises endure forever. My future destiny and heritage are destined to be great by the word of His mouth.

Oh Lord, my Lord, you have been kind to me. And to my sons!

God Help Me Pray

Tim Franklin

Freedom Christian Center

Luke 22:45 “…and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping...” NKJV “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” John Wesley

John Wesley knew well the place of prayer, and was often criticized by the church because of his rigid commitment to prayer and his demand that new believers be disciplined to prayer and the Word. Wesley knew the power of prayer, he walked in the spirit of revival and looked for those men who would give themselves to the place of prayer. God still looks for those kind of men, for communities that give themselves to Him in prayer. He can work through a praying church―not a prayerless one. He can work through praying Saints―not prayerless ones.

Is it no wonder, that Jesus would declare “My house shall be called a House of Prayer”? He did not call it a house of planning, a house of strategic thinking, a house of pleasure or a house of ease. He called it a House of Prayer―because that is what He wanted us to identify with. He was imparting to those who would follow Him, that if you desire anointing, supernatural strength, God’s help, God’s favor, then you must give yourself to prayer.

The apostles knew and esteemed the prominence of prayer in their lives. Jesus personally taught them to pray. He left His prayerful mark on their lives with the example that He lived before them. Long before daybreak; long after the sun went down; slipping out during the day; Jesus taught His disciples to pray. After their failure to pray in the garden, on the night Jesus needed them the most, their hearts were eternally marked with commitment to the place of prayer. Never again will we fail like that!

In Acts, they now began to understand that the Kingdom of God had been entrusted to them. Jesus was counting on them. They could not afford to be found prayerless, again. They put prayer first in their lives. They put prayer first in this new community called the church. They esteemed prayer in order that they would bring the people of the region to the highest place of faith and holiness. They ‘stirred themselves up’ to take hold of God. They prayed like Elijah who prayed until his prayers squeezed rain out of a drought. They ‘gave themselves to prayer’ and it was obvious to all. Even smart, well learned men took note that these uneducated men had been with Jesus in the place of prayer, continued to be found in the place of prayer and were turning the world ‘upside down.’

Oh, that Brevard County would experience the presence of praying Saints. Saints who will not say “NO” to prayer, be distracted from prayer, or give up on prayer. May this county know the fierceness of a people who call on God. May it live under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, brought on by tireless Saints, crying out for mercy in prayer. Oh, that Brevard would be awakened to the Presence of God brought on by the thunderous praying of the church. God works through men, men who depend upon Him and seek His counsel and strength in the place of prayer.

Where is the church that boasts of power?
Is she too weak to rise this hour?
Will she sit here idly by,
While souls to a Christless hell go die?
God forbid! Don’t let it be!
Lord put your holy fire in me!
Let it burn and blaze so bright and
Wake me to pray both day and night
Crying out for the souls of men
Crying out for the souls of men.
Give me a holy passion that will not end.
―Song written by Tim Franklin & Dan Walton

MyHOP! Join us this Friday night April 1st, 7 p.m. at Our Father’s House to pray.