03/04/2024
Have we prayed in solitude during our own daily lives? Have we dedicated a comfortable chair in a quiet place, where we go to pray, study the Word of God, and be with Him? This is the kind of place where believers build a deep trust in God, and it is a quiet and intimate place of prayer where their relationship with Him takes root and grows.
We are instructed to pray without ceasing and that means we are to pray wherever we find ourselves and in all situations, and that includes the storms of life, but there is something special about the quiet personal time that we spend in prayer. Pastor E.M. Bounds says that God gives "active life to trust, just like the eye and presence of the sun makes fruit and flowers grow." I like to compare the trust we build in our quiet time of prayer to the relationship we have with our families and spouses. When I first met my future wife I couldn't go a minute without thinking of her, we spent every available moment together, but the times that actually cemented us together were the quiet times with just the two of us there. This is when we confided our deepest desires and innermost dreams and secrets in one another. This was where our relationship was founded, and our trust in one another was built.
In our growing togetherness, I could tell her anything and she could do likewise... trust is intimate and has no room for doubt; it requires unwavering faith to grow, and in the same way... the more our trust in one another is proven, the more faith we have in the other as well.
Our quiet time with God is much the same as the time we spend alone with our spouses; we build trust in Him and increase faith as our dreams, secrets, desires, and praise is poured out in prayer. When God walks with us He isn't walking us like a pet, He is walking with us as He would a trusted companion. It is no accident that the church is referred to as the bride of Christ. We are in relationship; a relationship that is deep and founded on trust, faith, and conversation (prayer).
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Ephesians 5:22-23, 32
This morning I really enjoyed the thoughts that were shared in my devotional. As I sat in my comfortable chair in the pre-dawn hours, I thanked God for allowing me to have a relationship with Him, and for the trust I place in Him each and every day.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for our faith that fosters trust, and the trust you have given us that in turn bolsters our faith. Thank you Lord for the answer to our repeated prayers that we speak in both trust, and faith; and for the anticipation of your response. Help us Holy Father by surrounding us with your presence, and allowing us to feel it in our souls as we wait on you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose promises are certain, and who answers our prayers as we pray them in your will, and the name of Jesus. Great are you whose will is perfect, good, and forever true. We praise your name, and give you all the glory for each of them Lord, because all good things come from you. Hear us today as we lift our arms, and utter our prayers. This is the instant of your grace and mercy towards us, and the warmth of your love that surrounds us. This is the beginning of our songs of glory and worship of you… the seed of our faith, and the rain of your provision.
Amen
Rich Forbes