06/14/2022
Do our prayers begin to rise up before our feet hit the floor each morning? Do we thank the Lord for this new day, and ask Him to lead us in it before we stand erect to face the world? It is one thing to seek God in prayer when we will confront something difficult in the coming day, or are being pursued by an enemy, and are desperate for help, but what about the desperation of our soul? That deep longing that yearns for the presence of the Lord? Do we long for Jesus to awaken in us, and God to lift us up as we breathe the first breaths of each new dawn? Is our faith rekindled and the fire of our soul’s desire for our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, bursting into flame to light our way… even before we reach our prayer chair or closet? Ask yourself… at what point in my day does my soul desire to enter into the presence of God?
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8 ESV
Each morning I open my eyes, and thank God for not only the blessings of the previous day, but for the many coming blessings he will pour over me in this new day. I pray for forgiveness, and anticipate his love, goodness, mercy, and grace, as I enter fresh, and refreshed, into my conscious daily relationship. You see, we need Him from the moment that we exhale the last dream of the night, and as we draw in the first fragrant breath that He breathes into us… In this way our faithfulness is made great, and our quiet morning filled with the sound of His moving, and the whisper of His voice.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
I went years treating God like someone that I couldn’t visit before I had bathed, brushed my teeth, dressed, and put on my socks and shoes. I treated Him like an acquaintance, or a business partner, not like an intimate and personal part of me. This realization came to me one morning as I stood in the shower, and it dawned on me that God knew me in my nakedness, with the sour breath of morning, and before I had prepared myself to enter the world… or His presence. There was no place that He wasn’t with me, and there was nothing about me that He didn’t see, or know. At that moment I knew that whether in my best, or worst, He knew me, loved me, and treated me as if I were a part of Him… more than a son, or a friend, but someone with whom He had chosen to abide.
“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
John 14:20 KJV
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
John 15:4 KJV
That morning in the shower it became clear to me that my relationship with God and Jesus Christ was more than a formal one, and that even in my nakedness, and sin, He knew me. It was then that I became aware of how much I loved and trusted my Heavenly Father… and that it has been this way always; even from the moment of man’s creation, and my formation in the womb.
“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”
Genesis 3:10-11 KJV
So the intimacy of our relationship with the Lord is deeper than anything else in our lives. We might be one flesh with our spouse, but we are much more than that with God. We are in him, and He in us.
“My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
Psalm 84:2 ESV
So let’s revisit the question “At what point in my day does my soul desire to enter into the presence of God?”, and the answer is this… our souls desire His presence always; even from the foundation of creation. There is no moment in our day that our soul does not long for God, because He is with us always, and although we might try to convince ourselves otherwise, He is with us in every breath we take, and everywhere we are. God told Moses to call him “I Am”… and He is. So, in this way we should pray without ceasing, with every waking breath, every deep dream of night, and yes, in all of our nakedness, but especially during our moments of temptation, and sin, when we need His mercy, grace, and forgiveness, most of all. This is the desperation of our soul.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being with us, and in us always. Thank you for that first sweet prayer of morning, the calming spirit of prayer as we drift off into slumber. Help us to experience your presence all the day long as we deal with the world’s many trials, and lull us to sleep at night comforted in your restful peace. Give us the realization that you are with us always, and let our soul find its desire for you satisfied in this way. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Praised be your name as we yield our will to yours, and find no shame in our nakedness before you. Merciful are you who forgives us, and pours out your grace over us. String are you who confronts our enemies, and humble are you who teaches us to love them. We pray today that you lead us through all the days and nights of our lives, and find us worthy in Christ of spending eternity with you. This is our soul’s great desire, and it’s most desperate longing. Wash us in the blood of Christ, and find our transformation in Him acceptable and pleasing to you… now and forevermore. In this way we pray to be with you for all eternity.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 139:7-16 ESV
Rich Forbes