Lately, I haven’t had as much of the Lord’s presence as I want. The fault in this is entirely mine. God’s Word says that we have not because we ask not and as long as we are asking in Jesus’s name and in the Father’s will, it will be granted to us.
I had to stop and do a self inventory. Have I been seeking Him with my whole heart? Have I been lifting my heart and soul in praise to Him? Have I let any sin come between Him and I?
In this I can only bow my head and ask for the Spirit’s help. I know that in my flesh there is nothing good and that part of me wants to do what God hates. Left to my own devices I will stray and seek after the things of the world rather than God’s righteousness. But God’s Spirit that lives in me desires fellowship and oneness with the Father and whispers to me in that still small voice when I being to turn aside.
There is such mighty power in sincere prayer that seeks the very heart of God. There is literally nothing that God would not do for us to see His will done through us. Yes, he desires to use us as His hands and feet and yes, we are to be ministers of the gospel in this world but before that God wants our hearts perfectly aligned with His in sweet fellowship and companionship.
Before we can minister to the world we must be ministered to by His Spirit. Before we can proclaim His greatness among the nations we must be proclaimed to by His Spirit. And before we can be usable vessels we must be filled with His Spirit and emptied of the things of this world that crowd Him out of our lives.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all vessels. We are containers that God crafted individually and with great care to hold not only the spark of life but also His Spirit, God in us. Apart from Him we feel that emptiness and try to fill ourselves with everything else that this world offers only to find that nothing truly satisfies and nothing really lasts. Except God.
Our worship persists because He persists. Our works for Him have eternal significance because He is eternal. And our relationship with Him grows from day to day onto forever because He is forever and He never fails.
If I have less of Him than I want it is only because His Spirit is prompting me to seek Him above all else and to focus on Him to the exclusion of everything else. As important as our jobs, families, schools, churches and friends are, busyness can be our enemy and our enemy will use our busyness to separate us from God. Don’t let him.
Today I am taking some extra time to just stop and be still with God. I want to worship and I want to listen to what He has to say. My prayer for you and I is that we would be filled with His Holy Spirit and His presence would surround us as we go. Would you pray the same prayer for those you know?