Devotional 130209

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is so blessed to be His children that, we can go to Him whenever we need Him, just as the author of Hebrews said, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Our God is not like most people thought that He was too far, too high, and too holy for us to approach. He is always there to listen and respond. My heart and prayers went out to victims of the tragedy of Continental Airline and their families. It reminds us once again that life is truly a gift from God. We cannot take life for granted. We recognize our existence on earth each day is for a reason – and that is for the purpose of glorifying God. We have no right to bargain for extension because life is a gift that we don’t deserve at the very first place. But God wants to enrich our lives each day no matter how long we may have. The abundant life in Christ is the best gift that accompany with the earthly life we already have – it is a double blessing.

"Speak, for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10). Because I have listened definitely to one thing from God, it does not follow that I will listen to everything He says. The way in which I show God that I neither love nor respect Him is by the slowness of my heart and mind towards what He says. If I love my friend, I intuitively detect what he wants, and Jesus says, "You are my friends." Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord's this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not consciously have disobeyed it; but most of us show such disrespect to God that we do not even hear what He says, He might never have spoken.

The destiny of my spiritual life is such identification with Jesus Christ that I always hear God, and I know that God always hears me (John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God, by the devotion of hearing all the time. A lily, or a tree, or a servant of God, may convey God's message to me. What hinder me from hearing is that I am pre-occupied by other things. It is not that I will not hear God, but I am not devoted in the right place. I am devoted to things, to service, to convictions, and God may say what He likes but I do not hear Him. The child attitude is always, "Speak, for your servant is listening." If I have not cultivated this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God's voice at certain times or on what I want to hear; at other times I am taken up with things - things that I say I must do, and I become deaf to Him, I am not living the life of a child. Have I heard God's voice today?

Learn to make yourself available to God. Contemplative prayer is a lost art in Christianity. Contemplative prayer involves meditation and active listening. It is like what Oswald Chambers said earlier – to spend time with your beloved Lord. Don’t allow pre-occupations took you away from the presence of the Lord. From time to time, you may take a deep breath and remind your soul at the same time, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11). Then wait and focus on God with your imagination and enjoy His presence…

God loves you, and me too:)
Lawrence