When is Enough Enough? | Jennifer Slattery

I want to introduce a guest blogger, Jennifer Slattery, who shares her heart concerning prayer. It will challenge  and inspire you to allow the Holy Spirit to direct your times of prayer. Jennifer has also been a great asset as an editor and publicist on behalf of Burning Lamp Media & Publishing. Enjoy!

When is Enough Enough?

Jennifer Slattery

We’ve all had those moments in our life when we’re ready to throw in the towel. We’ve prayed and prayed, fervently and with faith, for something or someone, to no avail. And we’ve all had those moments when God’s Spirit has burned within us so strongly, we just knew things were going to turn around, our loved ones were going to finally take that leap of faith, our house was going to sell, we were going to get that job. Whatever. But then the moment passes, and our loved ones are still headed down a different road, the house continues to sit, and the job we’ve worked so hard and long for is given to someone else. So what do we do? When is enough enough?

I’ve been on both sides of this coin many times. I have moments where my faith is so strong I’m ready to turn mountains into mole-hills and to command trees to uproot themselves and jump into the sea. But I’ve also had many moments, way more than I’d like to admit, where I’ve thrown my hands in the air with a scowl and a vehement accusation hurled at God.

A while back God gave me just a glimmer of His heart, and it overwhelmed me with sadness. I’m not sure if sadness is quite the word. Sadness mixed with intense longing. I couldn’t stop crying, and praying. As I prayed, I listened to Addison Road’s “What Do I know of Holy” over and over. Like OCD over and over. Not sure why, but the song drew me. Even now, as I think about it, tears resurface. What do I know of Holy? What do I know of God? My human mind fails to comprehend. So what do I do? I box Him in to what is manageable, or understandable. In that moment, God shattered my nice little package with an intense, overpowering love.

I understood instantly that what I was feeling was God’s heart for the person He was calling me to pray for. And I have to tell you, my human love paled in comparison to the gut wrenching emotions that swept over me. And just when I thought I was done praying, and ready to get on with my day (the laundry never did get done and that article I keep talking about never did get written) it’d hit me again, like a Mack Truck straight to the chest, and I was back to tears and desperate cries to my Holy Father.

The pain was so intense it frightened me. If God felt such heartache for this person, did it mean that the person I was praying for had walked away completely? Was God in mourning? The thought terrified me and sent me into another tailspin of fervent prayers. I begged God for mercy, for intervention, for nothing short of a miracle. And then I received an email from a fellow writer who had also been called to pray. She relayed to me the words God had spoken to her, and they resonated so deeply, I was instantly reduced, once again to tears. And more prayers. An hour later, I received another email from another friend who was also being called to pray. She, too, provided words of affirmation and encouragement. Through out the evening, my yahoo account lit up with confirmation after confirmation that I was not, was not, was not to give up. Whether it took a week, a month, a year, or even decades.

So again I ask, when is enough enough?

Never.

And now I’m going to listen to that song again. Want to join me? Oh, LORD, if you touched my face, would I know you? Touch us now. Overwhelm us with Your love.

Jennifer Slattery writes for the ACFW Journal, Christ to the World Ministries, the Christian Pulse, Internet Cafe Devotions and Jewels of Encouragement. You can find out more about her and her writing by visiting her devotional blog, Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud. She also works for Tiffany Colter as an editor-for-hire and publicist. Find out more about her services at Word That Keep.

Zeke Lam | subMISSION

As many of you know I started Burning Lamp Media &Publishing at the end of 2010. After a year of much prayer and hard work, we finally published our first book—subMISSION: heeding only His voice by ZekeLam.

I first met Zeke back in 2009 at the Global Day of Prayer event in Culpeper, Virginia where we were both invited to minister. Immediately upon meeting Zeke, I could see his deep passion for Christ and for those in need of the liberating power of the Gospel message. Over the next 18 months our paths crossed multiple times.

Then in early 2011 we had a divine orchestration that would forever alter our paths. Previously we agreed to pray together weekly about a vision to launch The Circuit Riders (a topic for another time!)—however, during a particular phone conversation, I shared that I was going to start publishing Christian books through Burning Lamp. Immediately Zeke confided to me that he was about to finish up a book that he had started called subMISSION. I was intrigued. From that point on the Lord had us partner together to publish his first book, which was released on December 1, 2011. 

It was a learning experience for us both while also deepening a friendship between us—and our families. My wife adores his wife, and my girls love playing with his rough-and-tumble boys! We know this couple personally and we can attest to their walk of integrity before God—and to the verifiable fruit of a calling as an evangelist. (If you’re looking for an evangelist to come minister to your church, campus ministry, or at a conference—please consider Zeke Lam.)  

You can read his bio on our Burning Lamp Featured Author page.

Also I want to give you permission to share our Burning Lamp banners featuring Zeke's book on your blog, website, or Facebook page. On Facebook go to our Burning Lamp Media & Publishing page and you'll locate the three banners that we have available, each with a powerful quote from Zeke's book. 

Here are some guest interviews and articles that Zeke has done on various blogs in the past month.

MARY AND MARTHA (Naomi Dawn Musch)

SUBMISSION IN MARRIAGE (Julie Arduini) 

GUEST INTERVIEW (Carol Hatcher)

UPDATE:  In 2013 Zeke moved his family to Gainesville, Virginia to plant a church, Submission Ministries Fellowship. Visit them at their Facebook page or to their website to learn more information.