Hanging out with Jesus :)

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. – Psalm 19:14

Reading The Practice of the Presence of God has changed my life, and my approach to my relationship with the Lord so much. Though it should have occurred to me before in reading Scripture, Brother Lawrence laid out a few key verses that support the development of his way of conversing and communing with God that hit me straight in the forehead.

If we are supposed to have a heart for the Lord, and love others as He loved us, why would we want to do anything other than continually be in His presence and seeking His counsel and love? To live with Him in mind and heart is to love like He would and live a Christ-honoring life…DUH right?

I’ve always dealt with dwelling on the past, reliving moments that I would have done differently in hindsight or mulling over an offense that I committed or that someone committed against me. It is so very easy to revisit that scene in your life-movie and play it back on repeat until the hurt and anger well up and take control of your actions, leading you to do things that you wouldn’t otherwise do. However, meditating on this anger, or even regret, only allows the devil to gain a foothold in your heart, a heart that belongs to the Almighty Father. A heart and mind that are wallowing in malice, impure thoughts, and desolation are not a place that the Lord wants to come and dwell in, nor are they worthy of His presence.

So how does one go about seeking His presence? Well, Brother Lawrence suggests these things:

1. Pursue a great purity of life.
2. Be faithful in your pursuit of the Lord.
3. When your mind wanders, bring it back to Him without focusing on the failure, just rejoice to be with Him again.

I’m not far along in this practicing thing, but as of yet, I’ve definitely noticed a huge change in how I approach the Lord and how much I rely on Him. While I’m usually the first person to pick up the phone and press speed dial when something stressful happens, I’ve found that seeking God’s reassurance and strength first leads me to rely on Him as my Provider and my Defender. Also, when there is a joyous occasion in my life, since all good things come from Him, then it is only right to praise Him for the blessings He bestows upon us. He is truly capable of being our Everything, and He is faithful and loving and strong.

Also, another point that I’d like to mention while I’m thinking about it is the true joy that seems to accompany the presence of the Lord. As Brother Lawrence points out, it is rather hard to resist the joy that fills your soul when you truly dwell on how great our God is, how much He has done for us, how much He loves us and treasures us as individuals and as members of His body, and how wonderful the provisions are that He has made for us.

A great post that relates to this, and is much more organized than my thought train I’m sure, is found on the Boundless site at http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0002150.cfm. Definitely worth checking out!

Okay, time to glue some pictures down for first-grade homework…Whoohoo!!

:)