God speaks to us through creation.
He speaks to us through his Word.
He speaks to us through quiet hearts. (Busy hearts, too, but the reception can be fuzzy.)
When I was little, I was baffled—BAFFLED—by Jesus’ desire to pray. “Why would Jesus want to pray? Prayer was about getting stuff. He was God,” I reasoned. “He didn’t need anything.”
Jesus needed nothing.
Jesus desired the presence of his Father.
Do you think he was homesick?
Maybe.
Am I ever homesick? Do I ever long for the presence of my Father?
Over the years, prayer for me has moved (and is moving) from getting things to getting God.
Part of that journey includes dialogue—embracing a relational attitude to prayer. It’s about learning to listen to God, not only in his Word (which is primary), but how to listen to God in stillness.
For me, listening to God in prayer is attending to his presence. It is being still. It is knowing he is present. It is entering into a stillness that is quiet enough to hear his heartbeat and his song. It is where I feel most deeply loved.
Zephaniah 3:17 rises up to spotlight this truth.
The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.*
Stillness reminds me I occupy a treasured place in the heart of God.
This promise is found in Psalm 46:10a.
Be still, and know that I am God.
I can not see God.
I can not hear God.
I can not feel God.
But I can know God.
And in knowing God, he assures me of my identity, directs my footsteps and shapes my heart’s desires.
* For the warriors among us, visit this verse in the Holman Christian Standard Bible – Zephaniah 3:17.
(This is #2 of a 5-part series on prayer. Blessings!)
Is This Your First Time Here?
Welcome!
Run hard. Rest well. launched in March 2013. We’d like to invite you to subscribe to this weekly blog. The information to do so is located on the right hand side of this page. I’d also like to encourage you to read the first 8 weeks of posts on the right hand side. (But no rush. Go slow.) Start with Week 1. Each post is numbered and lays an important foundational insight into the life-giving rhythm Run hard. Rest well.
God’s richest blessings.
Brenda
Brenda, Can you sense God’s presence?
Blessings, Brenda
Brenda,
Two Scriptures come to mind when I reflect on this questions.
1) After encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus the two disciples exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning with in us while he talked to us on the road and opened scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:31-32) Ah! Their hearts burned.
2) John 4:23-24 … (24) “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Grounded in Truth. Attentive to the Spirit.
Can I sense God’s presence. Yes. Do I always? No. Is it different for everyone? Yes, I would guess, for we are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully’ made.
There’s more on this topic to come next week. There are also some additional thoughts in the resources in the tabs at the top of the page.
I’d love to hear from you, Brenda. How do you meet with God in stillness?
Rest well.
Brenda