Great prayer warriors have found great spiritual benefits from silently waiting before the Lord.
Why? Because they focus their minds entirely on loving God. And the Lord builds them up and equips them for the day ahead.
In The Hour That Changes The World, author Dick Eastman says:
"To be complete, prayer needs an early, significant dose of spiritual silence. Such silence is necessary if the believer hopes to minister effectively for Jesus."
Eastman says that we can easily get worn out by the busyness of life and the spiritual demands on our time. We need to turn our minds to God, opening ourselves completely to him without requests.
Sometimes, I stop for a few moments and simply imagine Jesus with me. He is saying nothing and I say nothing. We are simply loving companions. The thought of Jesus being present helps me put life in perspective. I am his and nothing else really matters in the long run.
However, Eastman urges me to do more than that. He suggests I make this waiting silence a regular part of my prayer time.
In fact, he recommends I begin my prayer time with praising God and then move into a time of silent waiting before the Lord. Praise helps point me to God and prepares me to simply adore him in silence.
"Waiting on God is especially essential to prayer because it strengthens our knowledge and concept of God," writes Eastman. "To focus attention entirely on God places God on the throne of our praying."
Eastman suggests these steps in silent waiting before God:
Why? Because they focus their minds entirely on loving God. And the Lord builds them up and equips them for the day ahead.
In The Hour That Changes The World, author Dick Eastman says:
"To be complete, prayer needs an early, significant dose of spiritual silence. Such silence is necessary if the believer hopes to minister effectively for Jesus."
Eastman says that we can easily get worn out by the busyness of life and the spiritual demands on our time. We need to turn our minds to God, opening ourselves completely to him without requests.
Sometimes, I stop for a few moments and simply imagine Jesus with me. He is saying nothing and I say nothing. We are simply loving companions. The thought of Jesus being present helps me put life in perspective. I am his and nothing else really matters in the long run.
However, Eastman urges me to do more than that. He suggests I make this waiting silence a regular part of my prayer time.
In fact, he recommends I begin my prayer time with praising God and then move into a time of silent waiting before the Lord. Praise helps point me to God and prepares me to simply adore him in silence.
"Waiting on God is especially essential to prayer because it strengthens our knowledge and concept of God," writes Eastman. "To focus attention entirely on God places God on the throne of our praying."
Eastman suggests these steps in silent waiting before God:
- After praising God, bring your mind and spirit to complete silence;
- Think only of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
- If you must speak, whisper words such as "I love you, Lord" or "I long for your presence, O God"; and
- Concentrate fully on God's love in these minutes of silence.
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