Worldwide we are living in what is becoming desperate times for many people. The word “desperate” implies urgency; difficult; serious; lack of hope; and needing something very much. History, specifically in the Bible, has repeatedly revealed that when things are going good – when wealth and health are abundant – God is forgotten (or “pushed out” of the nation); He is not seen as necessary; people live according to “their own good pleasure,” and sin blatantly abounds. Our nation in particular has been walking out this cycle for the past 40+ years. When the “security blankets” of life are removed, however, (jobs, bank accounts, health, relationships, freedoms, etc. are shaken) people once again turn to God for answers, often out of personal desperation.

I have carried a prayer burden for the past 16+ years for a generation to arise that would be wholehearted for the Lord; passionate, radical, holy, obedient and sold out to the King and His Kingdom…my prayers have become prayers of desperation for Him and for the manifestation of this prayer. As I have labored with Him to give birth to His desires, He has grown my own journey to a place of holy desperation for more of Him; more of His presence; more revelation of who His is; more of His heart; more of Him in me; more of His Word made manifest in me and more of Him revealed to the world around me and through me; His Kingdom come and His will be done in my life, in my family, in those I pray for, in this nation and in the nations beyond. This holy desperation is needing and desiring Him (delighting in Him) so much that there’s an ache in my spirit that only He can fill. A significant difference exists between desperation and holy desperation; desperation is generally a lack of hope, whereas holy desperation is understanding that He is the essence of all hope.

As we approach this Christmas season, I can’t help but ask, “Where is the holy desperation in our nation? Where are those who are desiring to be in His presence, to seek His heart and His will, to be used to bring His Kingdom to come and His will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven? Where are those who are willing to step away from the parties, the programs, the shopping, the schedules, the excuses, the busyness, to spend time individually, as well as families, and as a mulitgenerational, multidenominational Body to be with Him…to spend even a fraction of the exorbitant amounts of time we spend doing all of the other things (“stuff”), religious activities included, to be with Him…to listen to His voice; to soak in His presence; to love on Him, to thank Him and praise Him; to find delight in being with Him; not distracted or pulled in a thousand other directions?” I know there are remnants out there all over the world…but not nearly what it’s supposed to be.

Christmas is about Christ; pure and simple. It’s about the love of our Heavenly Father. It’s about His restoration of all mankind through the life, death and resurrection of His Beloved Son with whom He was well pleased. It’s about loving Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and about loving others with His love. It’s about being so caught up in relationship with Him that His heart, His will, His desires, and His Kingdom are all we live for; through His eyes and heart alone we view the world. It’s about a holy desperation to be in a love relationship with the lover of our souls. In that place He is what motivates, drives, and excites us. He is our hero. He is who we worship (how we spend our money and our time reveals what and who we worship). Everything else grows faintly dim in the light of Him; His glory and all that He is.

I pray that this Christmas He will pour out and bless each and every person who calls Him by name, as well as each and every desperate person with a holy desperation for Him. I pray that His wisdom, His understanding, His counsel, His might, His knowledge and a holy fear of Him would increase all over the earth. I pray that the fruit of His Spirit and every good and perfect spiritual gift He has made available to all who seek Him (His sons and daughters) with increase in greater measure. I pray that Christ will be revealed as He was that very first Christmas night; that a great company of heavenly hosts will again appear and His praises will be heard and declared here on the earth…all over the earth…just as it is in Heaven: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)