Remembering



Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, You are awesome and the model of perfection. I praise You and worship at Your feet today. Please fill this time with the knowledge of Your presence bringing me to a deeper understanding of Your love and faithfulness. Holy Spirit, You are always welcome to deal with my heart and challenge my thinking about what it means to declare that Jesus is Lord of my life. In His Holy name I pray. Amen. 

Read: Lamentations 3:19–26
http://www.esvbible.org/Lamentations 3:19-26 

Think about It: One of the very positive results of spending time in    silence is that we have time to remember the goodness of the Lord. In those moments we are able to reflect upon the past and remember where God has brought resolution, forgiveness, peace, and the miraculous. We avoid the quiet because of the negative things that come to mind, but that is a shame, because the good stuff surfaces as well.

It has been said that God uses the negative circumstances in our lives to shout at us, not in anger, but in an attempt to gain our attention. For many the first response to negative life circumstances is to move faster and avoid the pain at all costs when in fact doing the opposite is probably what will bring us back to peace more quickly. Disciplining yourself to sit quietly before the Lord when you are in pain is so very difficult but it is also so very rewarding. One of the benefits of practicing the discipline of silence when life is good is that when life become tough you are already prepared with a skill that will enable you to wait upon the Lord for His peace and His solution to your situation. Those who know how to pursue silence and solitude are   better prepared when the winds of life want to blow them down. They are ready to enter that solitary place and seek the Lord’s peace and security. The writer of Lamentation (most believe it to have been Jeremiah) speaks of the amazing hope that comes in the process of waiting quietly before the Lord. That is an interesting concept to ponder – there is hope in the solitude, which makes it completely worth the effort of learning the discipline of silence/solitude. God faithfully comes to those who wait on Him with patience and trust that He will come and take care of all things. What a fantastic promise. 

Prayer: Father God, I know that when it gets quiet I am forced to remember and some of those things I remember are not always so great. Where there is sin, I confess my need for a Savior. Where I see Your hand, I give You thanks for Your amazing actions in my life. Please help me carve out those moments of quiet in Your presence and help me allow You to do the work only You are able to do in me. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

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