To sit in His presence

What a blessing to simply sit in His presence and be still, to push out the noise of the world and listen to the Holy Spirit instead. I've always loved turning out all the lights and sitting on the floor with lit candles spread out around me, enough for me to be able to read Scripture. We quiet our hearts before Him, and sing songs to Him.

We ask Him to teach us. We learn that prayer is not as much about talking to God, but learning to listen; not as much about presenting our desires before Him, but aligning our desires with His will and the wisdom of His plan. We learn to stop striving, as if our plans, anxieties, and concerns were really all that they seem to be at first glance.

We look deeper, and find God leading us to quiet waters, teaching us to trust Him, to be patient, and to let Him give and take away as He sees fit. We learn obedience through suffering, and in quiet contemplation, we learn to see that suffering as infinitely worth it.

We begin to see the needs of the world as we imagine others all over the planet sitting around a campfire, or maybe by candlelight, as we are, asking God for food or security, or perhaps simply crying tears of grief to Him. And we see God crying tears over them, too, so we learn to cry tears for others as well. And we begin to beg Him to use us to wash their feet and carry their burdens.

We quiet our hearts and let eternity resonate into our thoughts. We focus on the Cross and see that it is so much more important than we act like it is in our daily lives. We cry out for transcendence.

We focus on our sin, and see that it is so much more horrifying than we will admit; our sin begins to truly disgust us, as it disgusts God. We begin to beg the Lord to deliver us from the hell of our own selfishness. We ask God to "make us holy, whatever it takes."

We listen, and discover that we need to listen better, and more often. We learn to put our hands over our mouths, and simply become students--disciples--of Christ. We ask for the way of wisdom, admitting that our own way has failed us. We ask for humility, so we might see ourselves correctly.

We ask for insight, so we might think clearly and translate our beliefs into a fortified worldview. We ask for a vision, to see God move us where He would have us go. We ask for openness, so that we will be truly willing and eager to obey His will. We ask for open doors, because we long to show the other beggars where we, who were once beggars ourselves, have found the bread.

We ask for protection, so that our faith would be strong. We ask for increasing intimacy with our loving Creator, that we might embrace what existence is ultimately all about. And we ask for the increasing ability to rest ourselves in Him, so that we might come back to these times of refreshing over and over again, for our delight, His glory, and simply because we truly long to be near Him, and to offer our gratitude to Him for the great things He has done.