Dear Priest is a series to encourage those who serve in the house of prayer, whether as missionaries or volunteers. God has much to say specifically to those who minister to Him in His house!

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I’ve been a full-time intercessory missionary for 6 years, and I was a student in the house of prayer for 4 years before that. In that time of giving myself fully to this calling, I’ve had plenty of moments where I felt like other blessings or opportunities were passing me by. I was single for the vast majority of that time, always renting a bedroom in someone else’s house and raising support to live on a missionary budget. When other people were taking steps to move their lives forward, I felt like I was perpetually 22, getting a decade older but still in the same life position. And I knew for a fact it was mostly because of my narrow focus on giving myself to the house of prayer.

Whether or not this is your exact story, you may be able to relate to feeling like your life would be very different, in some ways a lot more comfortable, if you weren’t locked into the house of prayer lifestyle. Maybe you’ve struggled with comparison when others around you seem to receive certain material blessings that just don’t really seem accessible to you within the boundaries of this life. I admit, when my younger brother got married and bought a house, I had to wrestle with God a little bit! That could have been me if I hadn’t said yes to this.

The passage has has most encouraged me in this struggle is Psalm 16:5-6.

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6)

The language of this Psalm is a direct reference to the inheritance that was given to the Levites. God promised certain portions of land to each tribe of Israel as their inheritance, but to the tribe of Levi, who were set apart as priests, He gave no land inheritance, because He Himself was their inheritance. In the priesthood, they had the unique privilege of access to the presence of God. (Nu. 18:20-26, Dt. 10:8-9)

As a modern-day priesthood, we can claim this promise for ourselves. When we are set apart as priests to minister to God, He rewards us with the most precious gift He can give— Himself. This is true for all believers, not only house of prayer people, but we experience this reality more as we embrace our priestly ministry to God.

The boundary lines were the markers that designated a certain tract of land as belonging to an individual or a family. I’ve sometimes heard this verse used in the modern sense of boundaries being behaviors that you’re not allowed to do, but historically, it literally described the amount of property you owned. The psalmist is saying here that the allotment of blessings God has given him in his life is good… because the chief blessing is God Himself.

It’s okay if God hasn’t given you the house or spouse or dream job you want.

It’s okay if other people have blessings you don’t.

What He’s given you is good.

He’s given you the honor of the priesthood.

He’s given you Himself.

What’s more, the psalmist, who is actually David (a non-Levite!), says that God is his “chosen portion.” This inheritance can be chosen! It’s not just for those born Levites… and it’s not just for full-time intercessory missionaries. Under the New Covenant, we all choose to join Jesus’ new priesthood, and we can all choose to lay hold of this inheritance in our lives now.

So how do we choose it?

Mary of Bethany shows us how. Jesus said that by sitting at His feet, she had “chosen the good portion” (Lk. 10:42). I did the research to confirm it: the Greek word for “portion” (merida, Strong’s G3310) is the same word specifically used in relation to inheritance in the New Testament and also the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Jesus is identifying Mary in the priestly role of ministering to Him with her time and attention, and therefore He Himself is her portion that will never be taken away from her.

As believers who collectively are a kingdom of priests, we receive full access to the presence of God, both now by the indwelling Holy Spirit and in eternity in His presence. However, just as the Levites were given a unique inheritance in the presence of God, and as the Psalms and Jesus said this portion could be chosen, there is an invitation awaiting anyone who chooses it to experience more of God as our inheritance. For us as dedicated priests serving in the house of prayer, often feeling the pinch of other things we are “missing out” on in order to say yes to this calling, let’s remember and be encouraged that the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places and God Himself is our portion!

You are my great reward
You’re who I’m longing for
My beautiful inheritance, Jesus
You’ve given me Yourself
You’ve given me Yourself
You’ve given me Yourself
You are enough
–“You Are My Great Reward” by Christina Reynolds

You are my portion, You’re my portion
When I lay down my life
You’re my portion, You’re my portion
–“My Portion” by Isla Vista

Dear Priest is a series to encourage those who serve in the house of prayer, whether as missionaries or volunteers. God has much to say specifically to those who minister to Him in His house!

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I don’t know a single intercessory missionary who hasn’t experienced pushback from friends and family over their calling. It’s not an easy thing for most people to understand.

• “So you just… pray? Do you guys do homeless outreach or anything?”
• “Why do you want to live off charity? Maybe you should get a real job and just pray at work.”
• “That’s great, but I’d rather give to something more tangible.”
• “Everyone is going to be there; can’t you just skip prayer room and come?”
• “I read on the internet that the house of prayer is a cult.”

Yeah, it’s not fun to hear. We learn to smile and brush it off, but it’s always at least a little bit hurtful and frustrating.

David dealt with similar pushback. According to Psalm 69, he endured a lot of opposition while building the house of prayer.

“For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
(Psalm 69:7-9)

David’s own family rejected him because of his prioritization of God’s presence. He also mentions his “folly” and “wrongs” in this Psalm (Ps. 69:5), which suggests that his family and even the broader community were focusing only on his weakness and failure, and weren’t seeing his calling like God was. God put this passion in his heart, accepted David’s repentance for all of his sins, and was so delighted in David’s zeal to build Him a place of continual worship.

This zeal led him to some pretty radical commitments (Ps. 132:3-5). David was so disturbed that God didn’t have a proper resting place that he refused to rest until the house of prayer was built. He bore the reproach of living an unbalanced, impractical, hyperfocused life in order to build a place for God’s presence.

As laborers in the house of prayer today, we may face similar accusation. Many people, including believers close to us, may not understand our zeal for the house of the Lord. Like David, we may be seen as overzealous, irrational, overly spiritual, etc.

It’s okay. We’re not doing it for them. Like David, we keep our eyes fixed on the one who sees us: “But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.” (Ps. 69:13)

What they call overzealous, God calls appropriate zeal.

What they call irrational, God calls wisdom.

What they call a waste, God calls beautiful.

God knew that sometimes our own brothers, spiritual and natural, wouldn’t be supportive of what He has called us to do in building His house. He gave us David’s  life as an example long ago. Don’t let the discouragement of misunderstanding and unsupportiveness knock you down.

I have two final encouragements for us:

One, do it before the eyes of Jesus. It’s okay if they don’t understand. Bear the reproach. The apostles rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Ac. 5:41) We can rejoice in our lightweight persecution of misunderstanding. He sees.

Two, He really is building His global house of prayer! Before this thing is over, His house really will be called a house of prayer (Isa. 56:7). You’re on the right side of history; you’re just in the early wave. They will get it eventually, and they will be so grateful for those who went before them.