Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8a
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10
I just love prayer. Now I’m not talking about sitting down and going through my Laundry List of requests. Of course there is nothing wrong with praying for specific requests, we are called to do that. Petition, especially for others, is an honor and a blessing. But I’m talking about just sitting down (or kneeling or lying prostrate or pacing) and BEING with the Lord in prayer.
Do you “be still and know that He is God”? Or are you always fussing to get it over and done with? I had a mental image in my prayer tonight of dancing with Jesus. I loved watching the old Fred Astaire movies where he gracefully glides across the ballroom floor. But he always leads his partner. His gentle guidance on her back with his hand, his directing with the dip of his shoulders, the pull and push of his fingers. And I saw Jesus leading me that way. The grace, the flow, the intimate union of the spiritual dance He is leading me in. It was really quite beautiful.
When I spend my prayer time leading with my lists to get through, I miss out on the wonder of the dance. I want my prayer time to be more beautiful and intimate. I want to draw near to God as He draws near to me. I want to build that intense unity of Spirit as He gazes intently into my eyes, while we dance into the night together.
I am learning more and more these past 12 years about the wonder and the beauty of prayer. And the more I learn, the more I long for. And to realize this is all just a down payment! The fullness of our dance together is still to come! Hallelujah!
Blogs I might be linking to:
Menu Planning Monday, On The Menu Monday, Marital Oneness, The Better Mom, Multitudes on Monday, Hear it On Sunday, Sharing His Bounty, What Joy Is Mine,Playdates at the Well, Back to School Monday, Motivating Mondays, Domestically Divine Tuesdays, Time Warp Wife, Funky Planet Frequent Flier Club, Encourage One Another, Living Well Wednesdays,Legacy Leaver Thursday, What’s Up Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, Thought Provoking Thursday, Hearts 4 Home, Thankful Thursday, Raising Mighty Arrows Thursdays, Thought Provoking Thursday, First Day of My Life Thankful Thursdays, Thankful, Thankful Thursday Brown-eyed Bell(e), Big Family Fridays, Faith Filled Fridays, Home Focused Friday, Homemaking Link-up Week-end, The Mommy Club
Amen. Prayer is beautiful. I praise God for showing me more and more to seek Him in prayer about everything-big or small.
Thanks, Deborah…I agree.
Beautiful, dear Friend, just beautiful….the desire of all our hearts!
Sweet Cathy, thanks so much. May it continue to be the desire of our hearts!!
Do you remember the song, “Lord of the Dance?” I think maybe Michael Card sang it.(I could be very wrong about that, and I know he didn’t write it.) Anyway, this, along with our prayer time last night, made me think back to that song. Lord Of The Dance – Sydney Carter Lyrics
1. I danced in the morning
When the world was begun
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth
Refrain:
Dance then wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I’ll lead you all
Wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all
In the dance said He
2. I danced for the scribe
And the pharisee
But they would not dance
And they wouldn’t follow me
I danced for the fishermen
For James and John
They came with me
And the dance went on
(refrain)
3. I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame
The holy people said
It was a shame
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung me high
And they left me there
On a Cross to die.
(refrain)
4. I danced on a Friday (slow down)
When the sky turned black
It’s hard to dance
With the world on your back
They buried my body
And they thought I’d gone
But I am the dance
And I still go on.
(refrain)
5. They cut me down
And I leapt up high
I am the life
That’ll never, never die
I’ll live in you
If you’ll live in me
I am the Lord
of the dance said He
Ah yes. I first heard this song as a young believer in West Virginia over 30 years ago and I loved it. Amen!! Thanks for sharing this, dear! Love you!!
Um…the tree. It has a demi-god carved into it that I believe is meant to depict the man praying to.
YIKES, thanks for bringing that to my attention! I couldn’t see it (bad eyes, bad monitors) but I’m so glad you mentioned it. It is very difficult to find good pictures of praying that reflect praying to Jehovah and not idols or false gods.
Thanks again. Picture changed.
AMEN!!
Beautiful post, I know I rush through my prayers more often than I should. Thank you for linking up at CEO of Me’s Motivating Monday.
Thanks, Misty!
This is a beautiful image, Kate. I agree. It’s hard to let of of the lists and control, but so worth it!
Yes, Mandy, you are right. I am so glad that walking in faith is a process and that God is patient with me IN that process!
[...] Thursday: Footprints in the Sand27. Inspired RD28. Happiness Month! Day 30: Sweet29. Tiffany30. Prayer: The next best thing @ Teaching What Is Good31. Today I Am Thankful For…32. Ann @ Christ in the [...]
[...] She calls it a dance. [...]