Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
friend, and I found myself crying as I pondered his goodness
towards us. As I walked along the lakeside a chuckle rose
from deep within and I jumped into the air. A quick look to
see if anyone was around, and then, ‘Praise the Lord!’ I
shouted till my voice rang over the lake, and the donkey
screamed. My days of academic introversion were over —
well, almost!
Lots of us had been wandering round the grounds trying to
‘prepare [our] minds for action’ (1 Pet 1:13) and commune
with God. It was a funny sight. Some walked through the
woods musing and muttering while others sat on the grass
and prayed.
One afternoon we had an hour of silence everywhere so we
could listen to God. But the evening meeting was more liberated
than ever because we’d been working hard to know and
hear God ourselves. A Malaysian student recognised one
tongue of praise as Mandarin Chinese and shouted out that
the interpretation was correct. Many were sensing their spirit
in new ways, ministering or psalming in the assembly.
A fascination with God developed. Corporate worship
brought a sense of his presence, but listening to the ‘still,
small voice’ was our need. So much knocked us off balance —
our bodies so tuned to the senses, our souls so full of thoughts,
feelings and desires. We needed to know God deep in our
spirits, to leave behind spiritual adolescence and press on to
maturity.
Community without spirituality would be disaster, and we
determined to pursue God and follow the Spirit. Already fans
of Tozer, we picked up his admiration for the mystics. ‘True
worship,’ he wrote, ‘is to be captivated and charmed and en-
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