It was a hard day. The stress I carried was wearing me thin and the burdens weighing me down. In these moments my first instinct is to find a quiet place and crawl into it.
The Lord is changing my heart.
We see Jesus withdrawing to quiet places quite often. But His action and mine are quite different. While I find quiet places to hide, Jesus finds quiet places to pray.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16
The Lord is encouraging me to follow His example.
On this night, I followed the Lord’s call and was incredibly blessed in my obedience. You see God doesn’t call us to bear our burdens alone.
If you read my last post, perhaps you remember this:
“Prayer is an opportunity to bring our requests to the throne.”
While I am good at physically hiding IN my pain; I am not good at hiding my pain. I arrived at my destination and was greeted by several who would place their hand on me, look me in the eye and ask, “Are you okay?”
“I’m good, just a rough day.” Would be my response. It’s easy in the moment to push the pain down but eventually the bubbles begin to surface in our face and actions as they mirror a forgotten pot boiling over on the stove.
A bubbling stew can only be contained for so long. We too can only hold our contents for so long before they make a mess.
I felt like a mess. My heart was screaming for release. Father God knew what I needed- time in His Presence.
I love to sit in the Presence of my Father. There aren’t enough adjectives to explain the peace as I picture His throne room and Jesus standing over me in intercession. Jesus gave us the honor to come to Him when He taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.
We each have a personal and intimate invitation to call on our Abba Father any day any moment.
I remember when I first learned to pray. A proper bowing of the head with closed eyes over templed hands. Perhaps my lips would mimic a rote response. This was the way it was done. But inside my head a thousand thoughts would interrupt the words being spoken. Many years would pass before I would recognize the opportunity for a personal dialogue With the Almighty.
Did you have a loved One who allowed you to crawl into their lap? Perhaps they would sing or read to You. Maybe they would kiss your boo-boo. A gentle hand might caress the tears as they fell down your face. Love would fill you like a faucet. The bubbling would simmer, the peace would take over as your burdens lifted and everything would be alright.
That is a small picture of what I feel in the arms of my Father. He sings songs of deliverance, reads to me the promises in His Word, and blesses me with a Holy Kiss as He captures my tears in His bottle.
This night I would sit in a quiet place in the presence of my Father. And His kiss would be delivered through the prayer of a kingdom warrior who reminded me I am never alone.
The bubbling ceased, the burdens fell. I was finally at peace.
How about you? Are you carrying heavy burdens? God has an open invitation for you to enter into His throne room and place them at His Feet.
Follow Jesus into a place where you are free from distraction, close your eyes and feel the presence of the One who created you.
”Our Father in Heaven...”
Find a posture before the throne. On your knees, sitting, standing with arms wide or laying prostrate before Him- humbly see Your Father on the throne as Your heart surrenders.
“Holy is Your Name.”
The posture of your heart matters. When Jesus prayed He knew it was to a Holy perfect Father that He lifted His requests. A humble heart is prepared for His Presence.
“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Surrender to His Will places your heart in a position to hear the gentle whisper that responds in the deep caverns of our heart. He calls us to ask for anything but at the end we must align to Him.
“Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
A fully dependent and expectant heart connects to the Father so much sweeter than one filled with religiosity. Come to Him expectant in the knowledge that He is with you and will hear your prayer. The Lord loves a humble and expectant heart.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
While it is so important to know that we have an enemy who loves to stir our pot, it is more important to know that our Father will turn down the heat. Where does your help come from?
“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:2 NIV
As the night drew to a close, the Lord brought to my attention a young man in the room. I have had the honor to watch him grow over the last three years. In the beginning, he liked to create a little chaos but on this night His Hands were raised in joyful surrender. In that moment, I realized that all of the stress in my body was gone. This young man solidified for me that my Father was working all things for my Good And His glory!
He has been faithful before. He WILL be faithful again.
And the love that filled my heart? Well let’s just say my pot is simmering and my heart runneth over.
Thank You Abba.
