⁸ Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
       Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
       You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
       No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

 ⁹ All who make idols are nothing,
       and the things they treasure are worthless.
       Those who would speak up for them are blind;
       they are ignorant, to their own shame.

 ¹⁰ Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
       which can profit him nothing?

Isaiah 44:8-10 (NIV)

I've started to confuse want of another guitar with a need.  Oh sure, I could rationalize the "need" - I "need" the new guitar because it plays faster.  I "need" the new guitar because it has a Stratocaster neck.  I "need" the new guitar because it is not that which I already have.

I need my job.
I need my house.
I need my cars (1 minivan, 1 sedan)
I need to eat.

::

At various points in my life I have experienced those mountaintop experiences that rejuvenate my spiritual walk.  Among the earliest experiences for me were when I was in the coastal redwood forests of Mendocino, on a missions trip with my youth group.  After breakfast we would take some time for devotionals and to hang out in the presence of God.  I typically found myself deep in the forest of the campground, away from others, sitting down on an oversized tree stump with Bible in hand.

After reading the selected passage, I would pause and gaze into the forest, quietly listening to the rustling leaves and the foggy mist that rolled between the trees, the tops of said trees no longer visible due to the fog.  I could picture God's hands coming down to remind me of his presence.

Tonight was another one of those experiences.  My church is going through 24 hours of prayer, from 7 pm Friday to 7 pm Saturday night.  We're taking 3 rooms, each of which has been set up to take us on a recommended prayer journey in which we can:

1) Praise the Lord and share our thanks with him.
2) Take communion after writing down our confessions or names of those to whom we've done wrong and seek forgiveness.  We then shred those pieces of paper.
3) Focus and pray over local ministries as well as overseas missions.
4) Pray for God's call in our individual lives right now.
5) Hang out with God in a tent not unlike that which Jacob experienced in Genesis 35.

For me, simply entering the room with the tent was enough to overwhelm me. I started to sob as I entered the tent - not because I was sad, but because I could feel God's presence move me closer to him.  He was inviting me into his presence.  My sandals were off, and I knew that I was in the presence of Someone greater than me.  Both kids joined me there, and each of us could feel his presence.  I sat quietly and heard a gentle "I love you" and "Bring it all to me" - clearly a sign to release all my troubles and let him take care of it, allowing me to feel refreshed and alive after the hour of prayer was over.

 ¹⁵ For this is what the high and lofty One says—
       he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
       "I live in a high and holy place,
       but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
       to revive the spirit of the lowly
       and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)