Fanning that Flame of Faith

How do you fan into flame the gift of God? How do you keep the fire burning when it can all to easily start to diminish with routine and daily life?

When I think of fanning the flame of faith, I think about Pentecost. I guess that makes sense since that is my favorite festival of the church year.  When I think about the disciples all together and being anointed with the tongues as of fire and the sound of the mighty rushing wind, it brings a smile to my face. And what they did after that is amazing, isn’t it. They all went out, each on his or her own journey, and spread the news of Jesus Christ to the known world. Peter’s Pentecost Day sermon was one for the ages and is one that we still refer to today. It was the result of the gift of God being fanned into flame, for sure.

For us, 20 centuries later, it’s a bit harder to find that fire. We don’t often feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But when we do, I believe we have some understanding of how Peter and the others felt that day. 

There’s a song that says, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” If you were to ask a wildland firefighter if that’s actually true, the answer would be a resounding “yes.” They have the time on fire lines and forest fires to back up their answer. 😉 

But what about fanning our faith into flame? What are some ways that we can make sure that the flame doesn’t die and our faith become stale? 

We each have our own way of keeping our faith alive. For me, I pray in the morning, usually before I do anything else. This is my time for intercessory prayer – so if you have a prayer request, that’s when I’ll be bringing it to God. I also pray for people if God brings them into my awareness during the day – sometimes even in the middle of the night. 😊 That act of prayer keeps my fire burning, as I know God is listening and that is very exciting to me.

My next step is to read Scripture and devotionals. Scripture is a given and I try to go through the Bible in a year each year. It’s amazing the insight we can get from each reading. That helps me to keep my faith alive because I get new nuggets each time I read a passage. Sometimes my perspective has shifted because of experience. Other times, God allows me to see a passage in a new light through the working of the Holy Spirit. It’s all very exciting to me and does wonders to keep that flame alive.

I then spend some intentional and dedicated time with God. I generally have a YouTube video on that is beautiful scenery, music, and, usually, Scriptures. This is when I simply lean into God and rest in Him. It is refreshing and enlightening. I don’t do any intercessory prayer during this time – just wait for Him to talk to me. Sometimes He just tells me to rest. Other times, He gives me direction and instruction. Always, He lets me know that He loves me. 

These things combined help me to keep that flame of faith burning in my heart. And then, what is also wonderful, is serving others in the way that Jesus served. Those things light me up and allow me to spread the flame of faith to others who may not have experienced it.

How do you keep the flame of faith burning in your heart? What do you do when you feel like that flame may be diminishing? How do you see the flame of faith burning in others? Is that incentive for you to stoke your own fire of faith? 

Blessings, 😊 Ceri