Christ Our Refuge of Prayer

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When it comes to prayer, many people find themselves unable to do so. They want to pray, but there are so many things that stop them in the way. Things like how they sound, or what they say is not going to get God's attention. When they pray, they basically unpray their prayers with trying to convince God why they would understand why He would not answer them. Others stand outside of it asking others to go in and pray for them because they feel they do not know how.

There are endless how-to books that work against the sweet simplicity of prayer. Along with theologians who intellectually turn it into something that creates great distance between God and the people trying to pray. I think of King David in his bedchamber at night, in the dark, speaking to God with nothing in hand. I imagine Paul in chains looking out through a tiny prison window with bars, speaking to Jesus about things in His heart, he having nothing in hand. I see Mary Magdalene arising and going to the tomb while it was yet dark. She went with nothing in hand, and in her going, she meets the risen Lord in the way.

Even Jesus when He went alone in prayer. "He arose a great while before day, and went out into a solitary place and there prayed." He had nothing in hand. God wants us to come to Him when we are weary, lonely, scared, and many other reasons of desperation. But there is a reality in prayer overlooked. That prayer is not just a thing only, but a place of joyful rest and rich abiding comfort. Jesus is our refuge and strength. He is our Fortress, our High Tower, and Deliverer. He is our Hiding Place, a Covert from the storm. It is not always about terror and fear. He wants us to dwell with Him in under the shadow of His wings, under His hand with nothing in ours. To abide there in peaceful, satisfying rest while the world marches all around us. "The strength of the hills is His also."

"So wait before the Lord; Wait in the stillness. And in that stillness, assurance will come to you. You will know that you are heard; you will know that your Lord ponders the voice of your humble desires; you will hear quiet words spoken to you yourself, perhaps to your grateful surprise and refreshment." -Amy Carmichael