Sometimes holy places aren’t obviously holy at first glance.

One place that has become a holy place for me in Klaipeda – probably the most special – has been the prayer room at the student dormitory. This might be because the church I attend meets in the school auditorium, or because I don’t regularly visit some of the beautiful churches in town, but I think more likely is that I have felt and experienced the Spirit there in some very distinct ways.

Tonight I walked through the -20 degree (Celcius) cold to attend dorm worship night at 10 p.m. This gathering of students and some faculty is one thing that I have been looking forward to getting back to since the semester began 10 days ago, so I braved the breath-stealing cold! Singing and praying with the handful of students who were there tonight, I felt something inside me give way, loosen its grip.

To be blunt, it has been a hard, hard couple of weeks since returning. My heart has been stopped-up, fidgety, unteachable. I haven’t been seeking the Lord like I want to be. I have let myself listen to some of Satan’s more pernicious lies. The strongest of those lies is the fear that as things change and different people flow in and out of my life, the joy of the Lord will somehow leave me. This is the fear I cannot face – and this is the lie that Satan tells. He tries to tell me that serving the Lord will not satisfy my heart, that I will be lonely and forsaken by the Holy Spirit.

Thankfully, when I am in a holy place, Satan’s lies lose their power – his voice is not so loud and I can hear God’s voice again more clearly. So tonight, amidst the cold, cold dark, I could cry and pray for centering, for vision, for a heart that listens more to my Father’s voice and less to my own fears.

Take my heart, and form it

Take my mind, transform it

Take my will, conform it

To Yours, to Yours, Oh Lord.