STAY AND PRAY

O beauty ever ancient, ever new.

Too late have I loved you.

I was outside and you were within me.

And I never found you until I found

You within myself.

St. Augustine

Today I have felt constrained to stay still, sit quietly in one place, not running here and there, but quietly in His presence. Every time I sit still the Lord is there sitting with me, His presence strong and beautiful.

Obviously the question arises "Why Lord ... right now?" Why this almost tangible block to everything that would seem to excite and fulfil, even to things that You have called me to and enabled me to do? Why now?

I have watched and read as reports come of the Lord moving again in this day; reading of the excitement of 'revival' meetings that many are flocking to, even travelling long distances to be part of because God's presence is there and He is moving to do wonderful things in the midst of the people.

In the face of all of this, I felt today He was saying "Stay where you are and pray."

As I ponder this I believe He is showing something important for the days ahead. Yes ... we are hungry and thirsty ... longing for more of Him in our midst ... but still I hear Him saying "Stay where you are and pray."

Could it be that where we are right now is where He has placed us?

Could it be that we could miss something wonderful He intends to do in this place because we run off to another where the grass looks a little greener?

Could it be that our placing and our prayers are a little more important to the Lord than we ever thought they might be?

In past events have we perhaps missed the fullness of what He wanted to do because we chased after the obvious and were not willing to STAND in the place He put us and pray that He would manifest His presence there.

Just maybe, there are people all around us who will miss out on KNOWING the greatness of our God because we were off chasing it somewhere else instead of praying that He would come visit right where we are now.

All I can say is that He is causing me to sit still with Him and saying "Stay where you are and pray."