His Presence - Priceless

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

As this New Year begins, let’s be wise to reexamine our hearts with regards to prayer. Maybe a couple of questions will get us thinking in the right direction. First, do you pray regularly? Second, do you hurry through your prayer time in order to get to other things? 

If those questions hit close to home, then I have two words for you: Safeguard, and Stillness. When I think of safeguarding time to pray, my first thoughts go to Jesus. He was constantly surrounded by people as He went through His day. Yet He also understood that after intense periods of ministry, He needed solitude and seclusion so that He could rest in the Spirit, focus on His Father, and build up His strength. Even when people clamored for Him, He safeguarded His prayer time, knowing that His ministry would flow from it.

What may be even harder than safeguarding your time, is what you do with it. Often we say a quick, cute prayer then turn again to the work at hand. That’s where stillness comes to bear. A passage in Psalms makes it clear, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” [Psalm 46:10 NASB]. Many translations say, “Be still.” 

That’s great advice. Stop everything! Simply let your soul be aware of God’s presence. The Psalmist described it as a “weaned child,” perfectly at rest and happy in its Mother’s arms. 

Safeguard and Stillness. If you make these a priority in prayer, you will reap vast benefits. Sure, it’s a challenge. But when you quiet yourself before the Lord, and spend precious time with Him, you’ll be amazed to discover how much you need His presence. It is a priceless gift!

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself like a little weaned child with its mother; I am like a little child. Psalm 131:1-2 [HCSB]