ISAIAH 63: 17-19
17 Lord, why have you allowed us to turn from your path?
Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you?
Return and help us, for we are your servants,
the tribes that are your special possession.
18 How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place,
and now our enemies have destroyed it.
19 Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you,
as though we had never been known as your people.
I am very thankful for the creators of YOUVERSION.com. Through this web site I am able to access a variety of bible reading plans, with adjoining spaces to write comments. It is here that I discovered Prof. Horner’s Bible Reading System. One is scheduled to read 10 chapters a day from various books of the bible. It keeps me in His Word. I have yet to make it reading all 10 chapters every day for 30 days (for a habit to develop) but I still hang in there. Before I traveled to Africa a few others joined me in taking the reading challenge to go through all Gospels together in 30 days via this web site. That was so cool. I really enjoyed reading and knowing that others were reading the same thing! Oh… but the point of this blog entry is not the reading system but rather what I read today!
There was a season in my life where I enjoyed times meeting with God via Contemplative Prayer. I love it because God uses it to quite my soul. But for various reasons I drifted away from the very method God has used so many times to minister to me. It just happened. Why? I have no clue.
I recently told a prayer partner that I wanted to return to making time for contemplative prayer. It helps me to tell someone else my intentions because for some reason I tend to actually DO what I intend when I know someone will ask about it!
Today – it was while I was reading Isaiah 63. When I came to verses 17-19 it seemed as if God had something in those specific verses for me! I slowed down. I re-read them more than once. My mind pondered…
I know how I feel when I suddenly discover that I have followed my own pathway and not Gods.
“Lord, why have you allowed me to turn from your path in my special times with you? Don’t leave me, but return and help me to come into your presence more and more. How brief of a season do I routinely contemplate Your scripture just to tarry and wait to hear what you might be saying through them specifically for me. The enemy of my soul seduces me into busy work that lures me away from the special times. Yes, I have allowed Him to destroy that sacred time. It seems as if you are silently waiting. It is now that I feel that I am acting as if I never belonged to you - as though I had never been known as Yours. Ahhh, but I AM yours. Your love is stronger than I can imagine. Help me Lord.”No matter how far we move away, I am so thankful that our God speaks to us and His love is never failing. I took this time this morning as affirmation that my return to a contemplative pocket of time is, in fact, His steps for me.
He has created us each differently so perhaps contemplative prayer is not where you meet Him. Perhaps the Deceiver has filled your time schedule with many things. So much so that you do not have the time to meet God in your special place.
I am praying that you will join in rededication of creating time away with Him... Enjoy Him and bask in the presence of our Creator. We are precious in His sight. Let’s enjoy His company.
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