Team Charis has devotional and prayer time each morning with hosts Cristi and Adena Filip.
We are going through the Seth Barnes* book, The Art of Listening Prayer. It is much better with a group; I tried to do the devotions on my own and I wasn’t that drawn by the stories or intentional about the questions for contemplation. Now, with my team and our host family, I lead, meaning I read aloud, the devotional. The morning group keeps me accountable to the devotional; reading aloud lets me read, speak and hear the message. Each day ends with a “scripture meditation” and “Questions to ask God.” This is simply meant for groups! You can discuss the example given, the message, the scripture and the questions. Not everything in the Bible is self explanatory. The day’s message and questions don’t always seem to line up. Together we can talk about concerns, confusions or curiosities.
This mornings scripture came from Luke 8:15.
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (ESV)
15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with [a]perseverance. (NASB)
I am trying to learn to be quiet enough to hear the Lord. It is difficult to turn off my mind and not wonder whether the thoughts, ideas or images coming to mind are from the Lord or from me. Discernment is my goal and prayer for the year. As we go through the devotional, I am learning more and more about the process and practice of discerning God. His messages are coming through about as clear as mud…though its improving! Yesterday the devotion, the Charles Stanley radio show and my mom’s email all complimented each other… God was really trying to teach me something. At the end of the devotion each day, Seth Barnes poses questions that the reader in turn asks God. As I tried to listen for understanding I got an image of a sunflower tracing the sun’s path across the sky. I’m trying not to doubt my ability to hear God, because that doubt actually boxes God in.
I want to listen with discernment; gain knowledge and speak with wisdom. I want my life to follow the Lord, be a guide to others. First I realize my life must have God as the foundation. Just as a garden must have the right soil to grow beautiful flowers, I must have something pure, right, and healthy to plant my roots.
The tall, hearty stalks allow the flower to withstand strong winds and torential rains. This stability is only possibly because of the flower’s “upbringing” during its seedling years. The need to see and feel the sun is so overwhelming that the seedlings follow the sun throughout the day. Their desire for the sun’s light and warmth compels the flower to turn in the sun’s direction, across the sky. The stalk of the sunflower becomes thick and strong. Only from following the sun day in and day out does the sunflower become able to stand on its own; still when consistent attention from the sun is no longer necessary for growth, the flower ends its habits in expection. Thus, sunflowers mature in an Eastward facing direction, ready to see the sun rise in the morning.
Ready, expectant, but well founded and able to stand. I hope these same characteristics describe my life. I want to be a beacon of light, my life an axample of the strength and power that comes from growing in the Lord’s affection and blessing. I’ve been granted the inheritance of God’s kingdom, …and all I did was ask.
*Seth Barnes is the founder of AIM, the Missions Organization of World Race
