Monday February 8, 2021

In the busyness of our everyday lives, we often fail to prepare our hearts and minds for reading God’s word and experience God in this time. Take a moment to allow this prayer to lead you into your time with God today. 

As I enter into this time of prayer and reflection, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly; to re-center my scattered senses upon the presence of God. 

Holy and loving God, in this new season I invite you to shape my soul with your words and inspire my life with your works. Teach me to walk in the way of peace and grace. AMEN. 

Psalm 139:1-3

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

David’s opening words of Psalm 139 are a declaration of his understanding of God as well as God’s relationship to him. David affirms that God knows him better than he knows himself. 

Every significant relationship in our lives bears witness to the fact that intimacy requires vulnerability. It’s reasonable for us to question whether we really want God to know us so profoundly.

We might think, “I want God to love me, but I don’t want God to really know me.”

What lies behind our hesitation is our fear that if God really knew me there is no way that God would really love me. We wonder if it’s really possible that these could both be true. Could God really love me AND fully know me at the same time? 

Do you believe that this is possible? What, if anything, might lead you to doubt this remarkable truth?

Father, help me to live this day to the full,  being true to You, in every way.

Amen.

*Our opening and closing prayers are  adapted from Lectio365, a mobile application developed by the 24-7 Prayer Network. To find out more about this resource, visit this link.