Prayerful Thoughts July 23, 2020 The Refreshing

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

The above verse speaks of our refreshing relationship with our Lord. In the morning I try to set aside a little time to pray. I find it’s more of preparing myself for the busy day than really communicating issues with God. 

Oh I have prayers that are made up of request, both for those I love, and for myself. God encourages us to petition Him in such matters; in fact, He enjoys it. 

But this time I set aside is different. I ask God to calm my mind, to help me be more focused and to flow over me with His Spirit. At the core of this quiet time with God is my desire for His refreshing. Like everyone else, I find I have demanding things from my day, be it work, or my home life, these thought without warning come flooding into my mind; my quiet time with God often becomes a jumbled mess of mixed thoughts. 

I will be sitting quietly just seeking the Lord and all of a sudden a thought about work, or a list of things I must get done overwhelms my brain. I believe God knows our minds are full of distractions, and amazingly He can see through that jumbled mess. Oh how I am grateful that He sees the motivations of our hearts. Don’t become discouraged when your mind wanders or gets distracted. I use to think that God must be really disappointed with me because I could not stay focused on Him during my prayer time. Even a few unbroken minutes with God can do wonders for us. God is pleased with you as long as your motivations are founded in a love for Him.

This morning I checked my calendar and we have exactly 61 days till the first day of Autumn. I always look forward to that first cool morning, oh how it refreshes my soul. Like a cool breeze, the Holy Spirit refreshes us, giving us new strength.

Keep meeting with the Lord, make time for your relationship with Him. Don’t worry about the distractions, just let Him know your heart and invite His refreshing Spirit to wash over you. 

We can trust the Lord; if He has the ability to manage the whole universe, He can certainly deal with our small distractions. 

Enjoy your time with the Lord and may the Holy Spirit bless you.

Pastor Michael