Heart for Sacramento, part 1

I sit here in the Atlanta airport reflecting on the trip that I just had here. Not the travel that brought me here or that will take me home; nor the business that took place while I was here, but rather the spiritual things that happened to me while I was here.

I enjoy business travel. Because I enjoy working, vacations are difficult for me. Just doing "play" things all day bores me very quickly. What I enjoy about business travel is that I get to work during the day and then in the evening I am "free" from my normal husbandly and fatherly duties, giving me extra time for my spiritual hobbies. Now don't misunderstand me. I love my wife and children more than words can express. I love the responsibilities that I took on when I got married. I love talking with my wife and planning our lives together. She is my best friend and I miss her deeply when we are apart. I also love my children. I love coming home each day from work to discover what they have been doing all day and what new things they have discovered in the world. What I didn't anticipate is how much time being a husband and a father would take.

I love the business travel because I get a tiny bit of that time back. Between the time on the plane and the two hours before I go to sleep I get to study my Bible and learn about God in a way that is more focused than while at home.

This trip was no different.

My favorite thing about coming to Atlanta is the House of Prayer here. They have a 24/7 prayer room just like the one in Kansas City. Just like the one we have in Roseville (except ours isn't 24/7 yet). The beauty of the IHOP-Atl is that I have zero responsibilities at it and I am unknown. There is no one to say "Hi!" to. I cannot think about all the things that I should be doing to help the ministry grow and attract more people. I am free to simply commune with God.

I have listened to dozens of IHOP-Atlanta's Sunday night messages. While they have no idea who I am, I feel like IHOP-Atl is part of me. While in their prayer room this week, I reflected on a conversation related in the story of their founding. Billy Humphrey (their director) spent a couple years at IHOP-KC. While there he had a formative meeting with Mike Bickle, the director of IHOP-KC. During this meeting, as Billy shares it, Mike asked him, "Why do you want to start a 24/7 prayer room in Atlanta?" Billy responded with a fervor "Prayer changes things. Atlanta is the 'Gateway to the South'. If we can change Atlanta then the whole of the South opens to us. If we can change the South we can change the nation. If we can change America we can change the world."

I spent a bit of time reflecting on that perspective and how it pertains to my life and the House of Prayer to which I belong. (See part 2 for the rest of the story.)