See and Respond
We live unto the Lord, whether in a Sunday service or the Monday marketplace, a quiet home or noisy public space (Col 3:23). Amazingly, the Lord involves himself in our daily lives, alongside managing the universe and steering the affairs of nations! He is with us; invisible1 but not hidden, and he makes it possible for us to see and respond to him in all of life.
Light-prompts
In any daily experience, pleasant or otherwise, there’s (in the words of C.S. Lewis) a beam of light2, viz. something that the Lord wants us to know, or recall, about himself. His light-prompts are present in the changing frames of our daily experiences.
But life can be busy, noisy and demanding, and we might fail to see the light beams because we are so engrossed in our circumstances.
How can we grow as pray-ers who see and respond to the Lord, not only in the ‘churchy’ times, but in the congestion and rush of daily life?
Best place to form the habit
Our ‘inner room’ is the best place to learn responses to the Lord. What happens there overflows into our daily living spaces.
The Lord has given us spiritual eyes that can take in the view of him. It’s an imperfect seeing, but it strengthens with use (Eph 1:18). Initially, a discipline of love, it becomes an enjoyable habit.
Exposure and response form the core of our eternal priesthood! The Lord hasn’t reserved it for the afterlife. The Spirit of Christ (who has a perfect view of his glory) is helping us to see and respond to him now.
As the habit grows in our private times with him, it spills over into all of our living.
Read the Bible as a pray-er
We read the Bible as pray-ers who love the Speaker and want to see more of him. And seeing him draws a response.
For example, we might read a passage that refers to God’s unfailing love. That truth is his gift to us; he is telling us something wonderful about himself. As his priestly bride, we choose to respond rather than race past the view.
Our best first response is to admire him (admiration prayers – spoken or sung – include wonder, thanks, celebration, praise, and adoration). By practicing ‘see and respond’ when we read scripture, the Spirit is coaching us to do the same in our daily living.
That light from the Word (in this case, the Lord’s unfailing love) remains with us throughout the day (and beyond) as a truth-prompt, nudging us to respond to him.
He shines in our day’s activities in creative ways to draw our attention to himself. But the clearest and constant light throughout the day is the view he gives us of himself in his Word. Making Word-time as a pray-er at the start of the day, or the night before, prepares us to see and respond to him in the new day’s journey.
In Psalm 89:1-2, the Lord (through Ethan’s song) tells us at least three things about his love.
- Read the passage as a pray-er with an appetite to see the Lord.
- See and respond to the gifts of truth about himself that he has placed there. Respond to each truth with prayers of admiration. A good place to start is with the response that gets top mention in the Bible: thanksgiving. Then add other admiration prayer types. See the post Prayer Medley about blending prayer types.
1Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17, Hebrews 11:27 2Meditation in a Toolshed
Our Resident Intercessor
A few months ago, I wrote about Christ’s 24/7 intercession for us, and how it gives us a reason to live restfully. This post enlarges the picture, and it has to do with our resident intercessor. The Holy Spirit loves to draw attention to what Jesus is doing. But in...
Pray for the messenger
Pray for the messenger. Paul regularly made that appeal to churches because of the high-value message he and his team carried. The message of Christ is powerful, and is crucial to the unfolding of his plans for lives. It’s a threat to Satan’s hold on hearts and...
Prayer Medley
Some prayer types are mentioned frequently in the Bible (e.g., thanksgiving, praise, supplication). Others are practised without being specifically named (e.g., lament, adoration, declaration). Sticking to the most mentioned types of prayer isn’t wrong, but we could...
Be shaped for BEST
The Lord didn’t send him stream-side to look at raw clay, or to admire finished earthen jars on display in the market. He sent Jeremiah to a potter’s house to watch a work in progress. The prophet walked from that workroom with a message: God’s people will be shaped...
One Reason to Live Restfully
Being in Christ doesn’t make us immune to unrest. He invites, and gives us reasons to rest. We choose to step into them (or not). This post will touch on just one reason to live restfully. The Lord’s supernatural involvement in our lives is ongoing, from our...
Days of Purpose
Jeremiah wasn’t a stranger to emotional slumps. His audience ridiculed him and rejected his message. At one point, after a beating and a day in the stocks, the prophet regretted being born (Jer 20:14,18). But, even in that tailspin, there were two things he couldn’t...
Unmute the Song
We’re not always in the mood for singing, but our choice to unmute the song of praise says a lot about our view of the Lord, especially in the harder parts of our life-journey. As Job mourned in the ashes of yesterday’s fire, perhaps Eliphaz was watching the burning...
Ask Seek Knock
The Lord wants us to ask for help and he promises answers. In Mt 7:7-11, Jesus doesn’t simply invite us to ask; he urges us. And his ask, seek, knock statement highlights some important things to keep in mind when asking. Interpretations of Jesus’ statement vary. I...
Wise Living
God has swung wide the door of his great house of wisdom1 and welcomed us home! Christ IS the house of pure wisdom,2 and he shares his light for wise living with all who are in him. Solomon thought of his amassed riches - his vast collection of gold, silver and...
Prayer of Forgiveness
Jesus' disciples wanted a prayer life beyond what they were used to; a prayer life more like his. So, they asked for his help. Jesus gave them a 'truth package' we refer to as 'The Lord’s Prayer' (see my post, Don’t bring us into temptation). One truth they were to...
