Time With Jesus
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Time With Jesus
Scripture:
Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into
your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in
the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly.
Matthew 14:23
And
after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to
pray. When evening came, he was there alone…
Mark
1:35
And
rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went
out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Luke 22:39-46
And he
came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples
followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you
may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone's
throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove
this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there
appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Psalm
5:2-3
Give
attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.
O Lord,
in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you
and watch.
Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the Lord are
toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
Devotional:
Good morning, friends. We have
just returned from a short trip to visit family and celebrate my amazing niece.
She earned her BS in nursing, and we flew with the entire family to celebrate
with her. On the heels of the funeral of my husband’s father, this was a bit
intense and pretty exhausting. I am sitting quietly on my couch at 7:30 this
morning listening to the sweet chattering of my oldest boy who refuses to come
out from beneath his fuzzy blanket as he revels in the feeling of being back in
his own bed after the two long days and very late night. Relaxing and sipping
my hot coffee. As I am reading
Before I even began to read the
words of Jesus this morning, the phrase “Time With Jesus” rang out in my
spirit. It is catchy, it is a familiar phrase, but this isn’t what the Lord was
trying to tell me. It was a gentle call to Him today. It was a reminder of why
these early mornings are His and mine together. As I dig into His Sermon again
today, it was so good to remember that Jesus just struggled at times with the
path set before Him. He did not meander through life….his walk was clear, purposeful,
and filled with challenges I cannot even begin to wrap my mind or heart around.
He did not tough it out by
Himself, my friends. And He is God! He plugged in to the Source of His power
regularly. He spent time alone with the Father so that He could pour out his
struggles, anxieties and fears. He was also human, like me. Like you. He needed
that time with the Lord. Like me. Like you.
I am not going to start harping
on a 5:30 quiet time. I have shared my habit so we can all think about carving
time into our days to plug in, to find the Source of power to charge our day
and give us strength. We are so in need! Each woman reading this is walking a
challenging road. I am sure of that! As we plug in, He is going to be the One
to empower us to walk this out. He will give wisdom, insight, grace,
forgiveness, mercy, healing, joy, peace, oh on and ON.
Spend some time with Him today,
sisters. He is waiting for us!
Prayer:
Lord, I need You. How I do. I am
walking through some difficult circumstances right now. Sometimes I feel to
tired to focus on Your Word. Sometimes I feel like it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t
make a difference anyway. I can’t compete with all these women, powerhouses of
faith who spend hours a day reading Your Word and praying for every item on
their list with authority and energy.
I often feel devoid of both.
I ask You today, Lord, to reveal
to me what time with You is to look like in MY life. I lay aside any
comparisons, ideas, and pretense and give my days and hours to You. Show me
when and where and how I can devote time to recharging my batteries with You.
Teach my children how to come to
You in their challenges too, Lord. The first thing I desire for them is also
the first You desire: that they would have a rich and abiding relationship with
You for all the days of their lives. Show them that You are the true Source.
Help me to be an example of that.
I lift up (area of need or
concern) to Your throne for Your solution. Not my will, but Yours.
Thank You for this time with You
today, Lord. I love you deeply and am thankful that You are mine.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
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