It occurs to me, as I pray for God to come and meet with me this morning how ludicrous it is to expect Him to come at our beck and call, without waiting for Him first; without showing some sort of commitment to wait for His voice; without setting aside some time first to show Him that we'll wait for Him until He's ready... or until we're ready to commune with Him.

How often do we come to Him in prayer, open our Bibles, read a little, and then close them, discouraged, because God hasn't met us? How often do we rail against God for His silence? How often do we lose faith when He doesn't come exactly how and when we demand? How often do we ring our little golden bell of prayer and expect Him to immediately respond, as though He were our servant?

The reality is that we are His servants. How much more often has He called us? How much more often have we ignored His gentle beckoning? How much more often have we been silent toward God, treating Him as though He doesn't even exist? How much more often have we lived our lives in our own strength; ignored His salvation apart from using it as a "get out of hell for free" card; taken Him for granted; issued statements of complaint instead of statements of gratitude; presumed upon His grace; and made false assumptions about His will and character?

When we call, He will come. He promises it, and in my experience it is true. The question is: are we willing to wait a fraction of the time that God waits for us? Are we willing to allow our hearts to be moulded by the act of waiting, so that when He comes we will be submissive and ready to hear what He has to say? Are we willing to give up our most precious commodity (time) to sit before Him and declare along with Jacob, "I will not let You go until You bless me"... (I add, "with Your presence")?

If He tarries for one hour, are we willing to pray for two? If He tarries for one week, will we persist for two? Are we willing to make all other things - sleep, work, play - subservient to Him? Will I open the doors and free Him from the prison of my own schedule? ...because if I am honest with myself and look inside that prison, I realize that He was never really in there in the first place. The only person who was ever in there was me.

(Valerie)

(Picture Source)