Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to peace filled day!
I am writing as I look out on a beautiful still lake surrounded by huge trees from our retreat house. Awesome view! We arrived yesterday afternoon and had a delicious supper and time of catching up with our dear friends and much laughter, and prayer as we settled into our king-size bed that we can view the lake from.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We hear so much about prayer and often we feel guilty that we aren’t praying enough. What exactly is prayer? I am reading a book that Catherine de Hueck Doherty wrote about reflections from a life of prayer. She said, “Prayer is love… Prayer is the meeting of 2 loves: the love of God and our love.” Prayer is an expression of our love for God, and it can also be in silence, just as 2 lovers can sit in silence at yet be communicating their great depth of love. When we come to know the Lord in a deep way, I think we will come to know a depth of joy and peace that may surprise us for we will receive compassion for others like we have never known before.

In prayer we are really surrendering ourselves to the Lord for we are welcoming His will over our own. We don’t have to have a set time to pray for we can talk to Him all day long throughout our day. We can pray in our hearts, even when we are serving others and not doing it aloud. In many ways a young mother when she is busy with meeting her children’s needs can be praying in her heart throughout the day. Doherty says, “Real prayer is simply the communication that constantly passes between you and the Lord. Prayer is conversation with Him.”

I think we make prayer complicated and wordy, but prayer is really simple. Where we live there are people with health issues and we can just simply say as we walk down the hall, “God, Cindy is sick. Please touch her with healing.” We don’t even have to know the person, for through our day we may see an accident or someone who needs care, and we can just ask the Lord to look after them. Our lives should never be boring for if we are flowing in prayer throughout our day, it gets exciting. God is so present and in a sense our lives become a prayer.

Paul says in Gal.2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  As we become united with the Lord as He lives in us, I think we will find ourselves praying all the time.

Challenge for today: Talk with the Lord with words and without words throughout your day.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy