Welcome! If you haven't had a chance to read Day Two in "Why Pray?" -- do so. We'll wait.
Done? Good - It's a real treat to be on this journey with you!
Today's Scripture is Mark 10:13-16 -- "People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them."
When I read today's reading in "Why Pray?", I couldn't get the above photo out of my head. It's of my son in the lap of my father -- just like the boy in the book. I share this image with you in case you haven't visually experienced it - I will let you borrow mine!
I think that, as an adult, I so strongly fight a battle against just settling down. Against stopping. Against resting, even if it is in God's lap. It's tough - I mean, I have at least four separate To Do Lists to answer to each day, plus I'm supposed to complete the "extra stuff" I haven't even written down yet , and then I have all the places I need to go to but never make the time to get there, as well as all the information I need to process that keeps collecting in my head from so many sources. And it never fails that something falls apart somewhere in my life -- HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS "SETTLE DOWN AND REST IN PRAYER" THING?!?
Do you ever feel like that? I hope I'm not the only one.
Well, I can tell you that my son, as a child, is fully present in the moment while riding that tractor with my dad. I can guarantee you he is not worried about anything left undone or untouched. He is simply connecting with my Dad and loving it.
So I think that's what I need to do. I'm going to spend time in prayer, even if I have a list of things to do a mile long. I will come, knowing that all the other stuff going on won't go away, but I will no longer have to face it all by myself. I will share it all with my Heavenly Father and connect with Him in prayer.
And then He will reach out His arms for me to come and settle in for a ride. I will hand all my "stuff" over to Him, climb into His lap, put my hands on top of His, and He will take me around His Kingdom. Wow! Can you imagine what I might see on this ride! Can you imagine the conversations we can have! Can you imagine what I might learn from Him as we go!
It is from this new perspective that I will then tackle what needs to be done, or go where I need to go -- with Kingdom eyes inherited through a prayer relationship where My Father is guiding me in ways beyond anything I could fathom without Him.
How about you? I would love to have you join me in just stopping right where you are -- no need to finish anything first. Seek God in prayer - set aside all your "adultness" and seek Him as a child. Share with Him all that is going on with you. Give it all to Him. And rest.
Lisa