03/08/2026
A few days ago I was trying to light our firepit for a spring BBQ. The coal was damp and despite my increasingly determined efforts, nothing seemed to work. Firelighters, matches, paper, kindling — I tried everything. The flames would flicker into life for a few moments, only to fade away again, leaving little more than smoke and disappointment.
After about twenty minutes I was ready to give up. “Stick the oven on!” I shouted to Vicky. The electric oven was easier. Simpler. Predictable. No waiting. No effort. Just flick a switch and the heat arrives.
But while she switched it on, I found myself having one final attempt. I bent down and blew on the coals. Then blew again. I grabbed a piece of cardboard and started fanning them. More blowing. More fanning. More blowing. In fact, I carried on until I felt slightly faint and there were spots before my eyes.
Then suddenly, everything changed.
The fire erupted. Flames burst through the damp coals. Heat filled the air. What had seemed lifeless moments earlier was now blazing with enough fire to cook the entire BBQ. The oven was switched off, and dinner was cooked over a living fire.
As I stood there watching those flames dance, I couldn’t help but think about the Church.
How often do we become weary of tending the fire? We pray for a while but see little change. We seek God but feel no immediate breakthrough. We believe for revival, miracles, salvations and fresh encounters with His presence, yet the coals seem damp and unresponsive. Eventually we become tempted to settle for what we can manufacture ourselves.
We switch on the oven.
We rely on better systems, slicker presentations, stronger branding, more polished programmes and increasingly sophisticated methods. None of these things are wrong in themselves, but they can never replace the fire of God. The danger comes when we become content with activity rather than anointing, crowds rather than disciples, efficiency rather than dependency, religion rather than revival.
The oven is easier.
The fire requires patience.
Yet throughout Scripture and Church history, God has always been drawn to those who refuse to stop blowing on the coals. Elijah rebuilt a broken altar before the fire fell. The disciples waited in prayer before Pentecost came. The Wesley brothers prayed. The Salvation Army prayed. Charles Finney prayed. The Welsh Revival was birthed in prayer. The Hebrides Revival emerged from persistent intercession. Again and again, ordinary believers kept tending what appeared to be dying embers until Heaven answered with fire.
Perhaps today you feel as though your prayers are producing only smoke. Perhaps you’ve been believing for a prodigal son or daughter, a breakthrough in your family, a healing, a fresh move of God in your church, or a renewed passion in your own heart. Don’t quit too soon.
The breakthrough may be closer than you think.
The fire may be nearer than it appears.
One more prayer. One more act of obedience. One more moment in His presence. One more breath upon the coals.
Keep praying. Keep seeking. Keep believing. Keep blowing on the fire.
Because sometimes the difference between smoke and flames is just one more breath.
An extract from The Altar (2026) by Jarrod Cooper. Order Your Copy Below 👇
Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration
Today I declare that the fire of God burns within me and will not go out (Leviticus 6:13). I will seek the Lord with all my heart and I will find Him as I pursue His presence (Jeremiah 29:13). I ask, seek and knock with confidence, knowing my Father hears and answers prayer (Matthew 7:7-8). I will not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time I will reap a harvest if I do not give up (Galatians 6:9). The Spirit of God is at work within me, empowering me beyond my natural strength (Philippians 2:13). I am being filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and carrying His fire into the world around me (Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:18).
If this devotional has encouraged you today, please share it with a friend, your family, your church, or on social media. Someone you know may be just one breath away from breakthrough.
