“Some things may be neglected with but little loss to the spiritual life, but to neglect communion with God is to hurt ourselves where we cannot afford it.”- A. W. Tozer
“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”- Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)
In John Eldredge’s foreword to Susie Larson’s book Your Powerful Prayers, he compares giving up on prayer to a solder laying down his arms in the midst of a firefight. Prayer, Mr. Eldredge adds, “is something you grow into, something you mature in and get better at over time.” In addition, John adds that prayer’s far more like learning to drive than sneezing.
Thus, as Ms. Larson notes in her introduction, Jesus wants us to be comfortable with, as well as undone by His great love for us. As a result, God’s love and acceptance of us has everything to do with prayer. Furthermore, Jesus invites us to:
- know Him more intimately
- walk with Him more profoundly
- trust in His Word more confidently
Most importantly, Ms. Larson exhorts, as we get to know God’s love, our life spills with grace, insight, and power. The author explains:
“If we want to be powerful in prayer, we must spend our lives learning to accept and embrace how fiercely God loves us. We must continually stand in awe of the fact that Jesus defeated death and sin for us. And then from there, live our whole lives in response to what Jesus has already accomplished for us. This is what it means to stop striving and to know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).”
Today’s question: During your desert, land between time, what circumstances cause(d) you to neglect communion with God? Please share.
Coming Monday: the new Short Meditation, ”
Tomorrow’s blog: “That place where joy and faith collide”
