Context: I try to pray, both with and without words, but I’m finding it very hard to concentrate. At present, I receive no tangible response – no light, no warmth, no waves of love, and no sense of God’s presence.
This has been happening for about a week, and makes for a very different spiritual life than I have been used to for many years. It’s a whole new territory for me, based much more strongly on faith and trust than on experience.
However, most mornings I still receive some words. For example, here is a sentence I was given yesterday: I’m in your hands, Lord, whether or not I can pray. This helped me to grasp and express much more clearly what I’m experiencing:
Our lives are in his hands (Psalm 66:9; NLT).
I’m in your hands, Lord –
Whether or not I can pray,
Or see your light,
Or feel your warmth.
I’m in your hands –
Whether or not I sense your love,
Or experience your presence,
Or hear your voice.
I’m in your hands –
Whether or not you give me
Anything to write,
And no matter much I thirst for you.
Father, into your hands
I commit my spirit each day –
*Let it be unto me
According to thy will.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46; NIV).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).
References
I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand (Isaiah 51:16; NLT).
As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand (Jeremiah 18:6; NLT).
In God’s hand is the soul of every living thing; in God’s hand is the breath of all humankind (Job 12:10; TIB).
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1; NIV).
*Here is a link to the blog where I first spontaneously used this phrase, just a few days ago: https://wp.me/p45bCr-cxR