Soul Sister Time

              There is no better place to learn how to talk to God than in the Psalms of David.   God pointed David out to us as a man who had a heart for God.   As you read the Psalms of David, you are reading the very words spoken from the heart of David to the heart of God.   Though God’s communication is not directly written, the guidance He gave to David’s heart in the midst of his despair is clear.   Once David started his anguish regarding his present circumstances directly to God, who God really is became a reality in the midst of the storm.   He began painting a picture of where God is and who God is when his world was falling apart.   This is a great pattern for us.   The Psalms, more than any other book of the Bible, contain words that connect our hearts to God’s heart.   You could look at the book of Psalms as personal journal excerpts David wrote during the most devastating circumstances of his life.   Psalm 57 is a perfect example.   David wrote these beautiful

              Jesus said: My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am work ing (John 5:17). God is at work in every moment of every day you live.   It takes faith to see His work.               Having just returned from a mission trip, I am reminded again of how often God’s work through our team is far from what I expected.   Working with Jesus is like that.   You feel the call to go where He leads; you plan what you think He wants you to do.   You only see His real work while you are obeying. Jesus was always surprising the disciples with the meaning of His words and questions.   The disciples discovered before we did that often God’s work is far from what we expected it to be.   Even after His resurrection, Jesus was constantly showing up in places that took the disciples off guard.   As you grow spiritually, you will become comfortable with this way of recognizing God’s working through you.               Caussade says: There is hardly a moment wh

              I hope that none of us lives a whole day without prayer.   I know it happens from time to time, but hopefully we are smart enough to know a day without prayer is not worth living.   Each day needs prayer but there are times and circumstances that require passionate prayer.               Passionate prayer is how you pray when your loved one is facing the battle of his life.   An example of passionate prayer is the Woman from Cana.   Here’s a description of her prayer life from Matthew 15:21-28. 21  Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22  A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23  Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24  He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25  The woman came and knelt before hi

            There is bliss of knowing that you are loved by a real and intimate God.   I have felt that bliss. I don’t experience it all the time and sometimes it takes me a while to notice how much I miss it.   Often I come back to my senses when I read the spiritual writings of one who is explaining how great God is and I am reminded how good He is to me.               I suppose the saints stayed more connected to the bliss of God on a regular basis and missed it far less than me.   I wish I knew their secret; all I can tell you is that it is a cycle for me to find myself unaware of God for a time.   It is often a struggle to reconnect each day. What brought me to my senses recently was a huge blessing He sent my way.   This good thing literally came to me directly from the hand of God.   I didn’t even consider sharing the joy I was feeling with anyone else but Him.   It was so personal only God could give me this gift in the way it was given.   Sometimes we get what we want

            Thomas Keating wrote: One who has this faith simply opens his eyes and, wherever he looks, finds God . Hebrews 11:6 describes what that means: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him . Faith is a leap into the unknown, the invisible and the incomputable.   Faith is finding the light of God in the darkness of your circumstances.   There is a darkness of faith that is illuminated by experience.   Faith grows deeper when we learn how to see God where without faith all we see is darkness.   God asks us to accept Him for who He is.   This is where faith becomes faith.   When we can see our faith growing in the midst of the darkness of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, we are moving towards real faith.    Since God is infinite, perfect, and incomprehensible, faith in God believes that He is and that He rewards, if not here on earth, in eternity.