I’ve given you a gift and you so deserve it, Child.
You’ve taken the gift and given it back to me. You are wise for this. For only a fool keeps my gifts for himself.
By giving it back to me, I will increase its fortitude and magnitude tenfold. I will multiply your gifts and shower you with more blessings because I have seen you are a good receiver and you are grateful.
It is written, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Precious child, I’m glad to meet you this morning once again. I am always near to you and am pleased when you draw nearer to me. Your confidence in me shows your great faith today. With faith, all things are possible. When you delight yourself in me, I give you the desires of your heart.
Do I not already know the desires of your heart? Yes, in fact, better than even you.
Still, the prayer is for your own benefit. It demonstrates your faith, allows you to practice your faith, and grow closer to me. Every time we commune in quiet stillness, your confidence in me grows. I offer perspective as my gift to you, removing your confining lens of the limited glasses through which you see this world.
Yes, prayer is an exercise of faith, and anything you exercise, grows. Remember that your faith is like a mustard seed? As it grows stronger and stronger, your perspective gets wider and wider, your trust in me deeper and deeper, your capacity to love bigger and bigger. And on it goes until you are so open, free, and willing that my power flows through you, giving you all that your heart desires and achieving all of the plans for which I have prepared you.
Oh child, I want this so much for you. This rich, full, abundant life on Earth which is available to you now and yet is only a glipmse into the richness, fullness, and abundance that awaits you in heaven. Yes, my child, this life on Earth is waiting for you. It’s here and now. And it begins with prayer. I love to watch you grow.
My loved one, why do you have such little faith? I have been anxiously waiting for a time to speak with you. I try everyday but you busy yourself so as not to hear. My child, rest in me. Cast your burdens on to me. I care for you. Do not let this world distract you with its concerns. Keep your eyes on me. I have great plans for you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Will you listen to me as I reveal them to you? I am not done with you yet, my child. No, we are just getting starting. You are growing stronger, in heart and character, every time you lean on me for strength. I am all you need. A pillar of strength.
I’d like to give you all that you ask of, if you are willing to accept my gifts. I don’t always answer your prayers as you think I will, and certainly not always on your time. But fear not, little one. I am your Father and am with you always. When you write, child, I speak through you loud and clear. Don’t you see what a gift this is? I will use your gifts to do miraculous things. Don’t give up on me, for I will never give up on you. When your will and my will align, beloved, I promise you will have all that you want and more. Stay with me. I love you.
It is written, “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice…” (Psalm 5:3) Thank you, little one, for coming back to me this morning. I am a proud father. Well pleased. The morning is my favorite time to sit with you, before your mind has begun and your day has yet started. My joy comes in the morning. By meeting with me now, you are able to take my joy as a gift and carry it with you throughout the day, using it to bless those around you.
When you look at Buddy (my dog), laying peacefully beside you, think of how much joy and warmth it brings to you. Now multiply that by one billion, and that is what it is like for me to see you resting peacefully in me.
Yet remember, I did not come to bring peace. But to save. So lean on me during all times and my peace will transcend your circumstances. I am your Rescuer. May you go in peace.
When I pray, “Give me wisdom.”
God answers, “Read my Word.”
It just occurred to me that I have never shared this story before- and it’s a good one.
After the accident, I was so angry with God that I refused to open my bible for over six months (I’d been reading it daily prior to).
When I finally did, this was the page/verse I had left off on. Isaiah 41:10. Is that incredible or what?
Everything on Earth is composed of opposites. We relate to the world through contrasts. Scientists call this The Unity of Opposites.
Just think of nature. Day and night, light and darkness, hot and cold…
Or your daily life. Gain and loss, pleasure and pain, good and bad, and so on.
Nothing has no opposites.
Except God. God is No Thing.
I am always amazed at how readily God speaks. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, “Hm. I haven’t heard from God in a while…” within minutes, (if I can quiet myself), I hear from Him.
It occurs to me then, that it is not so much that I go through life waiting to hear from God, as it is that I go through life while God’s waiting for me to listen.
Last night I was feeling overwhelmed with love for my dog, Buddy. I expressed this feeling to God. “I just love him so much!!” I said. He smiled, “I know you do. Your love for Buddy is a reflection of my love for you. Imagine how much more I love you! Hard to fathom, isn’t it?”
An overwhelming sense of peace washed over me, “I am in good hands.”
God continued, “Why don’t you try loving a person with the same sort of intensity that you love Buddy?”
“But, how?” I replied.
“Just try.” He answered.
“But,” I insisted, “My whole life revolves around him! How could I love people in that same way? It would take up too much energy. I would have no time.”
God replied, “Is there anything more important to spend your energy or time on?”
Wow. It hit me. We are called to love others. It is our mission. Our reason for being on Earth. And not just to love them halfheartedly either, when it’s convenient to us, for example. But to love them wholeheartedly, at all times, through all situations, no matter their actions or behaviors. This might seem like a daunting task but it’s natural when the Holy Spirit resides in you. This sort of love, relentless and all encompassing, is the kind that reflects God’s love for us. It is the kind that people most need to see. The kind that we need to be most intentional about showing.
Tonight God asked me, “How much do you trust me?”
“A lot,” I said.
He laughed, as He often does, “OK. But do you trust me enough?”
He continued, “Enough to stop worrying about time and how much of it you have? Have you not seen how my timing is perfect? Enough to stop obsessing over your to do list? What if I have better things for you to do? When you pray to me ‘Jesus, take the wheel’, do you really mean it? Will you let me? Do you trust me enough to lay your head on the pillow at night without your mind racing? Will you accept my offering of peace? Will you find your rest in me?”
I sat, once again, dumbfounded in His presence.
“You say you trust me ‘alot’ but is it enough?”
Vehicle of Wisdom 