Practice #1

"UPSURGE" BREAKTHROUGH PRAYER

Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

— Psalm 61:1-2 (NASB)

WATCH #1 Video Breakthrough Prayer Practice Story: Joseph

Find introductory videos featuring true stories that illustrate the breakthrough prayer practice for each chapter of Ultimate Reliance at: www.cokesbury.com/ultimate-reliance-study

It was the soul-level moment out of which a heartfelt cry to God emerges. The psalmist David was in a dilemma. History suggests he might have had enemies in hot pursuit. Or maybe he had taken a path through the hills that he believed would cut an hour off his travel time to the destination, never dreaming of the humanly impassible crags that lay ahead. It could have been he was hoping to gain a strategic view, ensure himself additional safety, or reach a perch of spiritual significance by choosing that particular route. Or it's plausible he assumed he would meet up with helpful traveling companions along that passage. Likely he had strong confidence in his own agile expertise that had always gotten him where he wanted to go, no matter how forbidding the cliffs.

But along the climb he reached a spot at which he recognized to push farther was going to require much more than his remaining reserves. His heart, or in scripture's original Hebrew language, sometimes translated as his "seat of courage," was faint within him. Physical exhaustion was likely. His hiking equipment was inadequate for what he faced. Yet David courageously hung on to his resolve for the destination that beckoned him.

It was then he prayed what I call an Upsurge Prayer, a simple breakthrough prayer asking God to "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I...."

David's prayer contained an intentional choice of words. The Hebrew word for "lead" is also used by Old Testament writers elsewhere in scripture to describe a shepherd guiding a flock. It's the same word that Moses used to depict how the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night led the children of Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 13:21). So David, in this moment of prayer, was asking for miraculous spiritual guidance and resourcing to break through from God — whether through shepherd-like nudges or with brilliant supernatural drama. Lead me....

Note also that David's Hebrew phrasing in his prayer that's translated "higher than I" means literally "to lift up." It was Hebrew language wording more typically used to characterize what parents do when they are raising children, rearing their young to grow up into maturity and adulthood.

So wrapped in the Upsurge Breakthrough Prayer from David was a courageous request to

shepherd me, resource me ... with the same supernatural directive that you provided in the pillar of smoke and fire, the same firm, gentle hand of a shepherd, the same loving, strong hand of a heavenly Parent, to lift me up to the next place that only you can help me reach.

Grow me up — beyond my current capacity, capability, and maturity — to realize the rock that is higher than I.

The Spiritual Path: An Invitation to Ascend

How would you define the phrase "spiritual path," or often called "discipleship pathway"? In some congregations, "discipleship" is the name of the list of Sunday classes that are offered each quarter. You may have heard it as part of the job title of a paid staff person, such as Director of Discipleship, where the title is intended to indicate that the role carries responsibility to set up spiritual growth opportunities for the congregation. "Commitment to discipleship" might be included in the vows a new church member takes to indicate Christian faith.

Discipleship — or the spiritual path of faith — is actually the mechanism through which God brings a maturing of the Christ life inside you, and a subsequent transformation of who you are into Christ's likeness. It doesn't happen only through a weekly "discipleship class" you take. Fact is, your spiritual path is far wider, and includes all of earthly life as your spiritual "classroom." Any opportunity, challenge, roadblock, detour, triumph, or tragedy that come along are all potential discipling scenarios within which God longs to beckon you to grasp the divine hand in trust and dare to progress spiritually beyond where you could go on your own.

The earthly spiritual path's ascent, should you agree to take it, results in "growing you up" so that you develop the new life of Christ inside that's expressed by an unmistakable likeness of Jesus on the outside. How will you know it's happening? The confirmation in you will be evident through emergence of Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23 CEB). And God's perspective that you'll gain from the rock that is higher than you will provide confirmation through and through that the climb, whatever the cost, is always worth more than you could have imagined.

Cost? Yes, growing up into Christ's likeness requires the leaving behind of what you might have always previously felt were non- negotiables. "Climbing equipment" (habitual ways of thinking or behaving) that you found useful in the past and the "baggage" of deep-seated attitudes, pride, or insecurities of heart and mind must be released in order to miraculously reach the next handhold. And maybe you've noticed that there are countless comfortable park benches alongside your spiritual path that make it entirely too easy to decide to sit down and just take in the partial view from there (and keep hanging on to the baggage). That's far easier than surrendering to the cost — the transformations you'll have to undergo — of scaling the summit.

You understand, now, that the Upsurge Breakthrough Prayer practice on your spiritual path is not a request for safety or protection. It's like the "Archer Prayer" style I described in chapter 2 of my book Flood Gates, breakthrough prayer that aims specifically at your longing for God to mature you further, whatever it takes.

Lead Me to the Rock That Is Higher Than I: Ministry Leadership

I remember a close friend in a Bible study group who was known for her wonderful personality. Alicia lit up the room when she entered. She was always the first to get everyone laughing, was always the catalyst to spark discussion. The atmosphere was noticeably lacking at the Bible study if, for some reason, Alicia couldn't attend that night.

Alicia always talked in our group about her love for Christ and of her confidence that God would eventually lead her to a way she could serve at our church most effectively. So we were all excited when Alicia told us one evening that she had been invited to become the hospitality team's front door greeter on Sunday mornings. What a perfect match for...