07/28/2024
Lingering In the presence of God. This hardly seems to be something we should need to be reminded to do, but as our busy lives overrun our quiet time and breach our prayer closets... We need encouragement to be still and pray as we should. In my devotional reading today Pastor E.M. Bounds reminded me of this with these words: "Hasty prayers are without results. Lingering in God's presence instructs and wins. We are taught by it, and the greatest victories are often the results of great waiting - waiting until words and plans are exhausted. Silent and patient waiting gains the crown." Are we reluctant to end our prayers? Are we longing to remain in the presence of God forever?
Rushing through our prayers not only impacts the success of them, but it robs us of the peace and quiet that they bring into our lives. When we have tarried in prayer, not wanting to say that last word because of the absolute joy of being in the presence of God, there is a great calm that will follow us from that place. It is like not wanting to take the last bite of a delicious meal but being too full to eat another morsel. When at last we push away from the table, and lean back, we are satiated, and ready to digest what we have just consumed… fully at peace.
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Psalms 131:2 ESV
I remember when my wife and I were dating. I left her in Tennessee and returned to Virginia to finish school. During this time apart we would speak weekly on the telephone. This sounds odd today but back then there were no cell phones or Internet... Just land lines, and letters. So, once a week I called her and we would talk. Hearing her voice calmed the anxiety that was rooted in our separation, and we would tell each other everything that had happened since we last spoke... But something else occurred as well. When we reached the end of our conversation, neither one of us wanted to say that last word; we found it difficult to say goodbye and we would search for more to say... usually ending our calls with endearments and expressions of love. Then when we hung up the phone I was calm and at peace. I knew she was there, that our relationship was well, and how much I longed to be with her again.
Our prayers should be like those phone calls. When we are speaking with God we should exhaust our hopes and needs, then linger on by praising him and expressing our love and desire. We should be reluctant to end our time together, not wanting to say goodbye... not wanting to say Amen. But when our prayers are finally concluded, and the door of our prayer closet swings open, we should be at peace, knowing that our relationship is well, and how much we long to reenter His presence again.
Bounds says that "time together with God will bring abundance to our lives. When we are devoted to God in our personal quiet time, we will be devoted to Him in public."
Don't we find this to be true in our lives too? The more time we spend with our spouse and our families, the deeper the relationship and the more we publicly express that love. It is the same with our spiritual relationship with the Lord... the more time we spend together the more people will see public evidence of our deep togetherness.
This morning as we pray, let's linger in God’s presence, let's hold onto those last words, stretching them out, so that our time together might continue for just a few moments longer. Let’s praise Him and linger a bit longer in His loving presence.
As you pray today, may God keep you in His hand and hold you close; and may you say Amen longing for His presence to follow you far beyond those glorious moments of prayer. Throughout your day and into your night may you yearn mightily for Him, and receive His peace in return. Amen…
“As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?”
Psalm 42:1-2 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for our time together in prayer. Thank you for hearing our concerns and calming us with your assurance that we should not fear, and that we are in your hands always. Know our hearts Lord, and feel the love that we harbor there for you. Feel the emotions in our prayers Holy Father, and soothe our anxiety with your breath as you breathe your Spirit onto us. Hold us gently to your breast, and let us believe your promise that you are always with us, and will never abandon us. Reassure us Abba that when we walk from prayer, back into the world, that we will soon find ourselves closing the door of our prayer closet once again, and share in the closeness we find there once more. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you whose very presence gives us peace, and comforts us. Holy are you who enters into prayer with us and soothes the anxiety we feel when the world presses us hard from every side. Holy are you who loves us so much that you would send your Son Jesus to be born, live, suffer, die, and be resurrected, that we would be redeemed, and saved from sin and death. Praised be your name always for the mercy and grace you pour over us, and the peace and calm we find by simply knowing you are there. Have mercy on us today as we pray, and meet our iniquities with your grace by washing them away with the cleansing blood of Jesus. Return us thus to a state of righteousness, and announce us worthy of spending eternity in prayer with you.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! … Amen.
“Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out before you day and night.
May my prayer reach your presence;
listen to my cry.”
Psalm 88:1-2 CSB
Rich Forbes