I sit here late at night, back in the little town of Oxford, here on the south island of New Zealand, as the rain pounds upon the roof of my little guest home. It has been about one year since I first left this town that I love, to venture up to the north island, to the city of Tauranga, planting myself in a prayer room with a number of other weak hearts, leaning in to Christ’s heart.

I think often of how the Lord has captured my weak heart over and over again with His strong love. What other than the covenantal love of God could keep us humans standing before Him day after day? I am such a weak vessel, but oh, the strength of His love! What power rests in His love! It is only by His love that I live another day before His face. I’m reminded again of this quote below, which explains so much of my heart over the past year and why I have forsaken all other pursuits in life for the sake of the ‘One Thing’ (Psalm 27:4). May this be my only reasonable response all the days of my life:

“Night and day prayer is not a testimony to human dedication but rather to the power of Jesus Christ to capture weak hearts and hold them fast in unending preoccupation. That His indescribable glory would be seen and His matchless worth treasured above all else is the cornerstone upon which night and day prayer must be founded and the reason it continues each passing moment. A house of prayer has its inception when someone beholds the majesty of Jesus and in wisdom concludes that the only reasonable response is for men to laud Him ceaselessly.” (Justin Rizzo)