It's Time to Commune

 

I step into the garden.

He’s here… breathing. Waiting. Watching.

His smile, His warmth, His welcome 

draw me

closer

Birdsong, floral scents, breezes, and sunshine 

surround us

as we embrace

“I’m so glad you came.”

It’s time to commune.

The Secret Place

 O My dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret places of the stairs,

let Me see your face, 
let Me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet, 
and your face is beautiful.

(Song of Songs 2:14 MKJV)

Do you have a secret place where you meet with God?

The secret place can be figurative, or it can be a literal place—a prayer closet, if you will.

I love nature, so my favorite prayer encounters often happen outdoors. And summer is a great time for that—beach walks, garden visits, hikes. Doesn’t matter, so long as you’re communing with God.

I used to think that I always needed to bring along my journal, a pen and my Bible in order to get everything out of those moments I could. But there are plenty of times when I’ve felt the nudge to just leave my “Bible bag” behind and traipse off for a conversation with the Lord. Then I can dialogue unhindered because I don’t have to stop and write everything down. (Nothing wrong with writing it all down, by the way.)

Bottom line, is that it doesn’t matter where you pray, just that you pray. Read in the Scriptures wherever God directs and have a daily time of refreshing in God’s presence. The great thing about journaling is you’ll have a record of what God has been up to in your life. Just the other day, God nudged me to read from the beginning of my current journal (the one I’ve been writing in since March). Very eye-opening to see what He’s been up to in my life. And seeing that leads to thankfulness and thankfulness leads to communing personally with Him, which leads back to prayer. Which leads us back to the necessity of having a secret place.

But you, when you pray, enter into your room.

And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret;

and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.

(Matthew 6:6 MKJV)

The Pleasure of Being Invited

My youngest peered up at me, so excited. She’d been invited to her friend’s birthday party! We shopped for a gift, wrapped it up, RSVP’d, and awaited the special day. And then she attended, much to her joy and that of her friends’ who were also there. But her face, her joy at just being invited, delighted me.

You’ve been invited. Invited to know God personally, intimately—in a heart-to-heart relationship of love.

You’ve been invited to His wedding. Not only invited to attend, but it would be His pleasure if you were the bride at this most sacred occasion. His bride.

My husband and I will attend another wedding this summer for friends of ours. Seems this is the season for the 20-somethings to get hitched at our church. What joy! And no one wants to be left out of the celebration.

You haven’t been left out. God knows you want to belong, you need to belong. He’s drawing you. Can you feel it? Someone said something the other day, got you thinking about God in a whole new way, a whole new light. You haven’t acted on what you thought, but this just confirms it’s time.

So, how do you respond?

Say “yes” to God. Just tell Him what you’re thinking and feeling. Have a conversation, a dialogue. You could call it prayer. It’s the beginning of the best relationship you’ll ever have. Try praying this:

Dear Jesus, thank You for drawing me to You. I need You. Please clean up my life, forgive my sins, help me live for You. I believe Your sacrifice on the cross paid for my sins so I could go to heaven, so I could know You, so I could experience Your amazing love. Help me experience Your love. Change me. Heal me. Free me. Amen.

God has sent you an invitation to know Him. Isn’t it time you RSVP’d?