The importance of prayer and daily communion with God…
The sons of Korah, in the Psalms, once spoke of our relationship with God, especially in times of trouble:
“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” (Psalms 42:7)
In the above verse the writer viewed his troubles like waves cascading down on him, as if he were standing under a waterfall.
He compared the noise of the waves to his troubles, that he personified as calling to one another to come and overwhelm him.
In Psalms 46:1, we are told that God ALONE is our ever-present help in our times of trouble!
This is why Jesus alone should be the air (the Breath of Life) that we breathe every single day.
On a daily basis, we need to experience God. We live in a world that pulls us away from Him, and we need that daily time where we get alone with God to stay close to Him. It’s our time of devotions and daily communication with God where He can speak into our lives and meet our deepest needs.
Let Jesus be our example on how important daily communion with God is:
Read through the gospels and you’ll note that Jesus often heads off on his own to be alone with His Father. And even the Psalmist wrote about how much we need to have communication with God, saying, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Psalm 42:1 NKJV).
Consistent Communion – The Most Important “Meal” of the Day
You’ve likely heard the old admonition – breakfast is the most important meal of your day. And there’s plenty of science to back that statement up.
Think of your daily communion with God as your “breakfast” or the most important “meal” of your day.
Spending time focused on prayer and time spent in God’s way should be the most critical “meal” that you consume daily.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sites in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV)
Listen to what David said on the subject of having daily communion with God:
“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me,
even at night my heart instructs me,
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.”
(Psalm 16:7-8)
We are invited to engage with God in ongoing conversation.
Night and day we listen as God counsels and instructs us.
Night and day we practice awareness of God’s loving, guiding presence.
Night and day we commune with God.
The prayer of communion with God is the prayer of praying “without ceasing.”
We are invited to engage with God in ongoing conversation. Night and day we listen as God counsels and instructs us.
Night and day we practice awareness of God’s loving, guiding presence.
Night and day we commune with God.
The prayer of communion with God is the prayer of praying “without ceasing”. It is the prayer of the “practice of the presence” that Brother Lawrence described when he said that it did not matter if he was kneeling in prayer in the chapel or washing dishes in the kitchen, he was engaged in the prayer of communion with God.
We may not think that such a prayer is real. We may think it is just for those who are in full time religious work of some kind.
But this kind of prayer is real. And it is meant for everyone. It is the expression of the deepest truth about prayer—that it is a relationship with God.
It is an ongoing, vital, personal, communicating, communing relationship with the living God.
Thomas Kelly says this about the prayer of communion:
“Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return.
Eternity is in our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.
Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life.…How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing?
By quiet, persistent practice in turning all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the deeps for our souls.…One can live in a well nigh continuous state of unworded prayer, directed toward God, directed toward people and enterprises we have on our heart.”
(Thomas Kelly A Testament of Devotion, 1941, HarperCollins New York, New York, pages 3, 11, 98)
The prayer of communion with God is a way of life in which God becomes our most intimate Other.
God is the Light within us and around us.
God is our Breath, our Hope, our Wisdom, our Life.
We talk to God about everything. We consult with God about everything.
We listen to God’s counsel. We find strength in God’s constant presence with us.
We return again and again throughout each day and night to our heart’s true Home.
You are my Life.
You are the Light within me.
You are my Guide,
my Joy,
my closest Friend.
Thank you that you counsel me.
Thank you for guiding me.
Awaken me each moment
to awareness of you.
May I live a life of
communion with you.
Prayer suggestion:
Begin to practice turning your heart and mind toward God throughout the day and any time at night that you are awake.
You might find it helpful to gently move your focus from your head to your heart, even placing your hand over your heart, remembering the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul—the Divine Center” within.
Continue this practice every day, asking God to help you live in awareness of God’s loving voice and presence with you.
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Come join the Adventure!
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