“[Paul] was…praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God…” Acts 22:17, The Message Remix
Oh, to be lost in the presence of God as we pray… How precious are those times when we’re so caught up in Him and in our communion with Him that everything else seems to melt away.
Don’t you wish that every time of prayer could find you lost in the presence of God? If you’re like me, though, other things compete for and distract from the kind of undivided attention, love, and devotion needed to be truly lost in His presence.
Instead, you may find yourself lost in the presence of the worries of the day or simply the details of certain pressing tasks. Or perhaps, like me, as you quiet your mind and approach a time of prayer, you have a tendency to become too introspective and get tied up in yourself rather than caught up in God.
Such are the challenges of spending time in prayer. If you struggle with similar problems in prayer, don’t give up. Join me in training our eyes to look away from the worries and the details, to look away from self. Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus and keep them there. Let’s go get lost in the presence of God.
“But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge…” Psalm 141:8
*Flickr photo by kelsey_lovefusionphoto
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Oh, Cheryl. I am right there with you. I pray many short prayers throughout the day, but when I really try to quiet my mind for introspective and meditative prayer, I so often get too wrapped up with self. Glad to hear that I am not the only one.
How hard it is for me to train my daily thoughts toward God. Certainly, he gets a portion of them, but not as much as I would like.
Practicing the Presence of God as Brother Lawrence would write. His words are a tremendous gift to me, even some 400 years after they were penned. Do you have that book?
peace~elaine
No, Elaine, I don’t have the book by Brother Lawrence. Sounds like it would be a good one to read sometime, though. Thanks for mentioning it!