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Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Over the past several years, God has been stretching my creativity and my imagination in prayer. It has been such a refreshing season of growth for me, as I am one who, in the past, tended to get stuck incomfortable ruts.Like many of us, I grew up praying with my head bowed, eyes closed and hands foldedin my lap. I was often told that this posture came about as an effective way to keep children from doing what they shouldn’t do during prayer time. The practice continued into my adulthood, as I was never taught another way. Even in worship services, it is common to hear the admonition to “close your eyes and bow your heads” as we are led in prayer. As I studied the Bible, I discovered multiple examples for utilizing our bodies and our voices in prayer. This started a rich practice of utilizing the numerous ways God’s people in Scripture and throughout the ages sought and responded to Him in prayer and intercession. I highly recommend letting the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and guide you (and/or your family, small group, etc.) into what may seem unusual or strange to you at first, but which may give your prayer lives fresh life! Following each, I will give you one or two suggestions for utilizing the practice. Bow Your Head or Body Bowing heads or bodies shows reverence and submission to God as an act of worship– Genesis 24:26-27 (Abraham’s servant bowed low in worship to God when his very specific prayer had been answered); Exodus 34:8-9 (Moses bowed his body toward the earth and made his request before God). Have each family member give one or two prayer requests. Bow your heads or bow to the ground and pray over those requests together. Kneel Kneeling has always been a universal sign of submission and obedience – Daniel 6:10 (Daniel knelt three times a day, praying and giving thanks); Luke 22:39-44; Matthew 15:25; 2 Chronicles 6:12-14. Pray for your unsaved family and friends as you kneel together before the Lord. If you feel led to, spread your hands toward heaven, as King Solomon did. Raise Hands Raising or spreading out our hands as a sign of both praise and petition – (The Hebrews used their hands to show their dependence upon God and their respect for Him. Lifting up holy hands was the common prayer posture among the Jews and the early Christians. Lifting their hands symbolized an expectant attitude and trust in God–that He would fill their empty hands with His blessings) Exodus 9:29; Exodus 17:10-13; 1 Kings 8:54-55; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 141:2; 1 Timothy 2:8. Pray for the leaders of your nation, your state, and your community. Lift up holy hands together as you do. Pray that God will give them wisdom and discernment. Pray for their health and protection. Pray for their families. Stand Standing is a sign of reverence and respect – 1 Chronicles 23:28-31 (The Levites were instructed to stand every morning and evening to praise the Lord); 2 Chronicles 20:2-9; Luke 18:9-14. Stand alone or together and give praise to God. Take turns thanking Him for all of the blessings He has brought into your lives. If you want, say short sentence prayers like this: “Lord, I praise You for_____.” Lie Prostrate Lying prostrate before the Lord – This is a position taken in times of deep, intense, emotional prayer. There is no more humble position than this one. Deuteronomy 9:18-20, 25-27 (Moses lay prostrate before God for 40 days and nights); 1 Chronicles 21:16-17; Matthew 26:39. Think of some deeply important needs–your own or someone else’s. Perhaps someone is struggling with a life-threatening disease or some kind of life crisis. Perhaps sin has been weighing you down–this would be an appropriate position in which to confess and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Or maybe you need to ask God something very important. Come before the Lord on behalf of these requests, and lie face down before the Lord. You can pray quietly by yourself or pray out loud with others. Look Up Looking up – (Jesus looked up when He gave thanks for the loaves and fish) Mark 6:39-44. As you give thanks for a meal, look up to heaven as you do. Spend time thanking the Lord for the way He has provided everything you need–your food, your clothing, your housing. Look toward heaven when you pray. Pray Quietly Spend some time praying quietly. – 1 Samuel 1:9-18 (Hannah prayed quietly before the Lord). God is perfectly capable of hearing our thoughts when we pray silently. There are times when praying in this way is very appropriate. We need to learn as an individual or a family to be comfortable with silence, because out of silence the Lord often speaks very clearly. Spend some time together in silent prayer. Ask the Father to speak to your heart. If you have trouble concentrating, picture Jesus in your mind and concentrate on Him. Shout Shout your praise to the Lord – Psalm 66:1-4 (The director of music was directed to shout for joy before the Lord in this psalm.) Psalms 71:23; 95:1; 98:4-6. It is certainly appropriate to cry out to the Lord in times of desperate prayer. It is also appropriate to raise our voices in praise! Try praising God in a loud voice, saying Acts 4:24: “Sovereign Lord . . . You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” Conclusion It is important to learn that if we seek the Lord, He will be found by us (1 Chronicles 28:9). It is also important to know that our Heavenly Father rewards those who seek Him in faith: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Model this passage: “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always” (1 Chronicles 16:10-11).

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). Do you find that you are sometimes easily sidetracked from the importance of an issue at hand by small, insignificant things that can cause you to lose your focus completely?  I am very susceptible to such distractions, especially when I am attempting to attend to my soul. For instance, it is a simple thing to be intent upon sitting in the lovely company of the Father, only to find that something left undone on my “to do” list can quickly yank me out of His presence. My ultimate goal is to be so fixed upon Jesus that nothing can keep me from seeking more of Him once He and I are in the midst of a sweet time of communion. Here are some prayer strategies I have learned that can help you remain in the Presence of God without allowing the persistent annoyances of life to intrude, even if you are in the middle of them. When practiced regularly, they can allow your love relationship with the Father through prayer to be embedded into the natural flow of life. Let’s focus on seeking God in silence in the ordinary moments of life: Submit your mind to God. “To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever present, all seeing within you.” –Theophan the Recluse When our minds are separated from our hearts through the busyness of life, it is difficult to be continually present to God. If we desire to hear His voice and seek Him continually, we must learn how to submit our minds to Him at the level of our hearts, silencing the din around us. To do this, bring all of your worries, stresses, situations, relationships, work, needs, joys, sorrows, etc. to the Father in a prayer of the heart. Like an open book, stand before the One who lives within you through the power of the Holy Spirit. If your purpose is to seek Him, and to draw near to Him, then your heart is the location of that meeting. Your priority is to submit your activity, work and feelings to Jesus. How is this possible? How do you come near to God in this way? What kind of posture, position or mindset will draw you into His presence? This is not an easy practice and takes intentional discipline. It is in silence that you surrender to His kingdom purposes for you. When you still your noisy thoughts and quiet our driven ambitions, you are able to meet face to face with the Lord! You are able to call on Him while He is near, because there is nothing blocking your communion. His full attention is on you at all times, but now your full attention is also on God. Close yourself off from distractions. If you practice stillness before God in the midst of the noise around you, taking time to close ourselves off from the distractions of the moment you are in, you will be able to hear the Father speak in your yieldedness. It may mean finding a quiet place to spend a few minutes alone in order to block out the din around you. Or, it may mean putting on some headphones or inserting earplugs. Taking time to be still in silence takes much practice. But the results will be invaluable to your souls. As you listen, God may give words of comfort, encouragement, conviction, etc. Or, perhaps He will just sit with you in a way that you know you have been in His Presence, even for a moment . . . and that will be enough. Write down the distractions to deal with later. It is so easy when intending to be still, to be distracted by thoughts, ideas, issues that need to be dealt with, etc. As you are practicing silence, quickly write down whatever distracts you. You can deal with them at the appropriate time. By doing this you are better able to listen to the heart of God. Here you are practicing the truth of 2 Corinthians 10:5: “Taking every thought . . . captive to the obedience of Christ.” “In silence, you leave the many to be with the One.”–Mama Maggie Gobran

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries I love a good rain in the summer–especially after it has been awhile since we have had a downpour. Rain changes so much. There is a fresh, sweet smell that comes with it, a coolness in the heat, and all vegetation perks up and greens up. It makes one feel good. Rain is also a metaphor for the pouring out of the Spirit in our lives and churches. When our souls become parched and dry spiritually, we need something to fill them with fresh spiritual vigor. We need rain. What is the rain we so long for and need? Ultimately, it is the Lord’s presence. Jesus Himself spoke of the living water that we would need in our lives. The Scripture speaks of “times of refreshing” (Acts 3:19). Such a time as this is not so much an experience as it is a Person. It is waking up to the presence of Christ in our lives. The prophet Hosea spoke of this spiritual rain: “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth” (Hos. 6:3). Whether we are asking for ourselves, our church, or our nation, Hosea chapter 10 gives us what we need to do to end drought and prepare for rain: “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you” (Hos. 10:12): 1. “Sow for yourselves righteousness.” Both Old and New Testaments teach us the spiritual principles that you reap what you sow. If you plant wheat, you do not harvest corn. If you plant immorality, you will harvest immorality. Many people, including us at times, sow greed, pleasure, immorality, and self-centeredness . . . and as a result, we reap the results of that. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for the church, and us as believers, to join with society in reaping the same damaging seed. God’s Word says to sow righteousness–sow right things. We must speak right things, watch right things, read right things, and do right things. The Bible becomes the means for us to see what those right things are. God’s Word gives us a standard for righteousness. Righteousness is not what seems right to a man, but what is right to God. If you want to move past spiritual dryness, check what you are sowing. If you are sowing damaging seed here and there, stop. Sow right things! 2. “Reap the fruit of unfailing love.” When righteousness has been sown, we will naturally begin to harvest the fruit of unfailing love. God loves everyone, but the fruit, the benefits of that love, come to those who are moving to establish God’s righteousness as the standard for their lives. There are many unclaimed blessings. One of the most neglected is the fruit of unfailing love. It only comes to those who have sown righteousness in their lives. As you sow righteousness, you should start to see clear signs of God’s love at work in your life. Recognize them, and praise the Lord for them. Watch what that does to your parched soul! 3. “Break up your unplowed ground.” Unplowed ground has a hard time receiving rain. Sun-scorched, baked earth forms a hard crust. When rain comes, it simply runs off hard ground rather than soak in to soften it. Unplowed ground is a picture of the unrepentant life. The rain of God’s righteousness will not soak in and change a life that is hard and unrepentant. So the command here is: “Repent! Change! Go a different direction!” That is always God’s call to those seeking revival. Today so many who seek revival, the rain from heaven, seem to want just good feelings or nice meetings. However, the good things of revival come only after times of tears and repentance. God’s command is to break up the hard, unplowed ground of your lives before you will see the rain of revival. Ask God to break up the hard ground of your heart. Repent of those things that keep your heart hard. 4. “It is time to seek the Lord.” Those in periods of spiritual dryness often go looking for answers in many places. But God’s Word directs us to the only place where we can experience renewal–the rain of heaven–and it is to seek the Lord. Hosea 10:12 gives great hope to us today. When we have broken up the unplowed ground in repentance and begin to seek the Lord with all our heart, then the promise comes. It is the Lord Himself who comes in response to a repentant, seeking heart, ready to shower His righteousness upon us. It is Jesus Himself in the midst of His people, receiving our worship, and showering upon us the blessings of His Presence. A simple, but continual remembrance–and practice–of these four steps can keep your heart always soft before Him. You will experience the rain of His Presence on a regular basis in your life.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Because this is a devotional on peace, it is embarrassing to admit that sometimes I have some anxiety. It can especially hit me at night when I am trying to sleep. If I’m not careful it can develop into a full-blown panic attack. I feel like I can’t stay in bed or I’ll suffocate. There have been times when I find myself up pacing through the house in the middle of the night trying to understand how a Christian who walks in peace can experience such an appalling lack of peace. I’m not a psychologist who can dissect all the possible reasons for this, but in my own life I know that sometimes, I simply have not accepted the peace of God into a place of permanence in my life. I can read scriptures that speak of peace without stopping to pray and I can give God thanks for His peace without allowing it to settle into the very depths of who I am. I am asking the Holy Spirit to bring my heart to a place where God’s peace permeates my heart, mind and soul continually. I would also suggest to you that sometimes the lack of peace is an outworking of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us. Jesus described Satan as a thief. One of the things Satan often tries to steal from me is peace. If my peace is only an emotional attachment, then it becomes easy for the enemy to steal it from me with just a bit of physical discomfort or stirring up my mind with thoughts not from the Lord. So what do I do when I find myself wandering the house at night, unable to sleep because of a lack of peace? I go to the Word of God and begin to pray one of the many passages that speak of the peace of God. God’s Word doesn’t present peace as simply the absence of hostility or somehow some state of nirvana we have achieved through meditation. Instead, Scripture ties peace to the presence of God Himself. That’s why I believe that walking in peace becomes a clear sign of someone who is experiencing the revival that comes from God’s presence. One of my favorite Scriptures to pray at night is Psalm 4:8. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” The very ability to lie down and sleep is one of the benefits of peace. Regardless of outward circumstances or inner turmoil, the peace of God gives us the ability to rest in Him. This verse equates peace with the phrase, “for you alone, LORD.” God’s peace is the practical outworking of the Lord’s presence in our lives. He is the one who makes us dwell in safety. This is an amazing gift of God that is to be accepted and embraced. Note: This is taken from the Introduction of Dave’s 30-day devotional, Prayer, Peace, and the Presence of God.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Saturday, October 7, 2017, is marked in my mind and heart as one of the most extraordinary days I’ve ever experienced. My wife and I were in Washington, D.C. for the Awaken the Dawn days of worship and prayer. Though there was a main stage and some really great worship leaders and speakers, that’s not what I will carry with me the rest of my life. What impacted me most were 58 tents, one for each state, along with tents for regions and Israel, all of them filled with Christ followers who worshiped and prayed 24 hours a day over the course of three days. Again and again as I walked through our National Mall, I was struck by the extraordinary nature of unending prayer and worship in the heart of our nation. In the center of our Capitol, where power is often an idol, Jesus was continually worshiped. Most of the time it was a small group with a guitar or keyboard in a small tent, though sometimes a louder and larger group in one of the regional tents grabbed my attention. But wherever I went, it was Jesus who was exalted. It was absolutely overwhelming! And then there was prayer! Not just in the tents, but all over the Mall. People grabbing each other and asking how they could pray for each other. Prayer circles everywhere. These weren’t part of some leader’s plan, but the work of the Spirit of God prompting the Lord’s people to intercede for one another, as well as for those walking by who didn’t know Jesus. From Friday afternoon through Monday morning, a spirit of prayer prevailed in our nation’s Capitol. I was also moved by the lack of promotion. You could have asked virtually anyone there, “What ministry or organization is leading this event?,” and you would have gotten a shrug of the shoulders. God gave a vision for this to a young man named David Bradshaw and then God moved many ministries and individuals to come alongside. That made this one of those rare events where only Jesus got credit and was exalted. So now what? I’m praying that the principle of the tents moves across America. It doesn’t have to be in a tent, but it is the principle of unending worship and prayer that is firmly focused on Jesus. Will this be a lasting movement? Is this the beginning of revival? It certainly can be. It has all the marks of revival. If we can avoid self-promotion and continue to make it all about Jesus. If we keep seeing extraordinary worship and prayer that is unending and Christ exalting . . . we just may be seeing that for what so many have longed, for such a long time: a new Christ Awakening in our nation! Check out Awaken the Dawn here! The movement continues!

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Though unwanted, fear seems to be a universal part of life. And yet, over and over again, scripture teaches us that we should not be afraid. It’s no wonder that the enemy of our souls, Satan, utilizes fear so effectively among the people of God. Reaction to fear varies from person to person, but fears that are not dealt with can bring damage and paralysis to a life. An example would be the individual with acrophobia (a fear of heights) who may be paralyzed with terror when faced with being in a tall building, or even climbing a small ladder. That’s just one example of many of how fear can bind us and keep us from a fulfilled, joyful life. For others, it is more anxiety and worry than full-blown fear; however, it seems to sideline believers in a similar way. Christians should and often do, turn to the Lord and ask Him to take away their fears. That is a simple request and really is something we can do in full assurance since the Lord does not want us to live in fear. One of the most common commands in scripture from the Lord is: “Fear not!” Where difficulty enters in is when we pray, asking for fear to be removed, and nothing seems to happen. We find ourselves as paralyzed by fear as before we prayed. What happened? Or rather, what didn’t happen and why? There are probably many answers that have to do with our unwillingness to let go of fear. But I believe God’s Word gives us a wonderful way to bypass the blocks to removing fear and receive great peace. David’s prayer in Psalm 34:4 “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears,” contains the key: “I sought the Lord.” His desire was not so much for fears to be relieved as it was to experience the presence of the Lord. He sought God, not just what God would do for him or give him. It’s a pure prayer that focuses on the Lord and brings delight to God’s heart. What about the fear issue? David made it clear that when he sought the Lord, the Lord delivered him from all his fears. Just like a parent coming into the room of a fearful child, that’s the natural response to the presence of our Heavenly Father. It’s just as Jesus taught us, if we seek Him first, then many good things will follow. As you seek the Lord and enjoy His presence, you will find that your fears have subsided and peace has taken their place. If we seek Him first rather than first asking Him to take away our fear…perhaps we will more and more experience the absence of fear in our lives.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Silence is very difficult . . . yet, it is in this place where God can choose to speak or not to speak and I am still able to know He is near because of the promise of His word in James 4:8 (“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”). Scripture is very clear that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) dwells within those who believe and who have entered into relationship with the Living Jesus. It takes time to release thoughts, troubles, etc. and simply be present to God so that He is able to connect with me. God can most certainly speak any way He wishes–even in the busiest, loudest moments of life. But I hear better when I take care to purposefully disentangle myself from every distraction and be still. This means putting my cell phone far away, shutting the lid to my computer, and just getting completely alone. I can be confident that my silence is prayer that God hears–I am telling my Father that He has center stage. He alone is holy, holy, holy. He is worthy above anyone or anything I could choose to engage with in this moment. I choose Him. My silence releases the ache of my heart to be close and intimate with all that He is. In my silence, I am able to “be still and know that He alone is God” (Psalm 46:10). I know that my Father is good, kind, and very present to me. He wants to hear my heartbeat as much or even more than I want to hear His. He wants all of my prayer-filled attention, and to know that all of my distractions have been set aside to allow His glory to fill the temple of the Holy Spirit that He has created for Himself. The prayer of silence speaks from a yieldedness that cannot be accomplished more fully in any other form. It simply is for Him. His presence is all I need. In silence, I can remember that this is so. As I have mentioned, silence is not an easy way to be present to God in prayer. This discipline takes time and practice. It is much simpler to speak to Him with words. But sometimes the offering of my words does not always give Him an offering of myself. And just being quiet doesn’t mean prayer is taking place. Here are three ways to enable yourself to practice silent prayer: Remove distractions.  There is no way to enter into silent prayer when people, technology or visual/auditory stimuli are present. You can’t multi-task in silent prayer. You will need to find your silent prayer sweet spot with God alone. Cleanse yourself from sin.  Recognize any sinfulness in your life, submit it to God with a repentant heart and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Take every thought captive.  The best way to do this is to turn your thoughts to the Father with a deep desire to minister to Him. Put your thoughts on His glory, His creation, His sacrifice, His mercy, etc. Silent prayer invites the mystery of God to come near. Take time to cultivate His presence in this way, and you will encounter His presence, power and peace in fresh ways. He will come near to you as you sacrifice all else for a desire to draw near to Him in the stillness.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Dave & Kim Butts with Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt.24:14). May I suggest to you that this massive, world-changing event, which Jesus told us to watch for, happened during the funeral of Billy Graham. In every nation, even those we call closed nations, the funeral of the world’s greatest evangelist presented the gospel of the kingdom with clarity and power. Oh, yes, I know that there is still much evangelism ahead of us. But it is a mopping up operation after the gospel has gone around the world. If this is the case, and I strongly believe that it is, then we are living in amazing times that require much of us. Prayer must move to the forefront of every initiative of the Church as we work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Living toward the end of the end of days means we must draw closer than ever to the Lord in intimate prayer and receive our clear marching orders from Him. We should expect to see a Spirit initiated revival in the Church. The death of an astonishingly effective evangelist like Billy Graham often brings the question of who will take his place. We are often drawn to the Old Testament story of the mantle of Elijah being passed to Elisha and we ask who will receive the mantle of Billy Graham. The answer is, “No man!” It is a mantle for the Church to wear as we prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. Prayer and evangelism are to become a lifestyle for the whole Church as we move out of our comfort zones and into the war zones of front line Christian living! There is a wave of prayer that is moving across the face of the earth right now. It is prayer that is focused, not on receiving what we want from God, but on the advance of His Kingdom. In Billy Graham’s latter years he gave himself more and more to prayer. That is a picture of what needs to happen in the Church right now. We must give ourselves more and more to prayer as we cooperate with God in His work on earth. As God prepared the earth for the first coming of Jesus two thousand years ago, He placed in Jerusalem two older saints, Anna and Simeon. They gave themselves to prayer in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. God is doing the same thing today in preparation for the return of Jesus to planet earth. He is raising up his saints who will give themselves to prayer that paves the way for the coming of Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I want in on that prayerful mission that will see the triumphal return of Jesus in His timing and in His way!

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Have you ever wondered how to respond in a practical way to Paul’s admonition in I Thessalonians 5:18 to “pray without ceasing”? Some of you may have some of the same questions I have wrestled with over the years: How do you do that? What do you pray about continually? Is this even possible? One extremely useful way to do so in my daily prayer life came to light for me with this one verse: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his Law he meditates day and night” (Ps.1:2). Psalm 1 shows us that unceasing prayer begins with an attitude…. delight. That which delights you will be that which you desire and seek after. The Psalmist speaks of the one who has found delight in the Law or Word of the Lord. Rather than looking at prayer as a duty, we should consider looking at it as a delight. A changed attitude changes everything! Next the Psalmist tells us that this man meditates on the Law (Word) day and night. Here’s the connection to praying without ceasing. The man who delights in the Word of God will be the one who meditates on it day and night. It becomes like breathing to him – something absolutely necessary for life. The Word fills his thoughts and quite naturally those thoughts come before the Lord. As we look to this model of one who meditates on the Word of God day and night, we realize the Spirit of God has given us an extremely practical way to pray without ceasing. The content of our prayers will be formatted by the Word of God. We begin to think on the Word (meditate) as we go through the day and the Lord births within us the prayers He desires us to pray. Prayer is no longer a requirement or even a scheduled event. It is a lifestyle of delighting in the Lord’s Word and continually talking with Him about that Word. Take this to heart, press into the Lord’s presence through His word, and you will find that it is indeed possible to pray without ceasing!

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries A few years ago, my husband went through his second of three battles with cancer. Following treatment that put him in remission, he had an appointment with an integrative oncologist to discuss some alternative ways to keep him healthy. Along with a green smoothie recipe and some other recommendations, Dr. Park talked a lot about stress. This was not a huge surprise as most of us now know how damaging stress can be to our bodies; however, it was how he used an example from his own life as a physician that gripped my heart. He is not a believer in Jesus, but his counsel agrees so completely with the counsel of God. Dr. Park said, “If I came into this room today fully aware and pre-occupied with the fact that there are other patients in rooms waiting for me to get to them, I would come in here worried and stressed. I would hate coming to work every day knowing that I can never keep up as I would like to. But,” he said, looking at my husband, “I choose to come in and focus on you – just you. I have learned how to simply live in the moment I am in and not the moments I can do nothing about other than worry. Stay present to the moment you are in. It will help you relieve worry and stress.” I translated this exchange with the Dr. into spiritual terms: Stay present to God who is in this moment with you. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Every moment of every day God is present to us. He doesn’t take breaks to involve Himself elsewhere. He is within us, about us, for us, and desiring to engage with us in all things. This is a great encouragement to me. And, it is a way to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As I increase my awareness of Christ in me…continually breathing life into my experiences (good or bad, exciting or mundane), I can lessen my worry about what is next, who is waiting for me to do something, what has happened in the past, or how much work there is to be done. This awareness allows me to stop being conformed to the image of the world, but instead to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). I want to be able to stay in the moment with God’s peace and presence rather than in moments that contain stress and worry. Here are some suggestions on how to live this out in a practical way: Put on the armor of God  (Ephesians 6:10-17) so that the enemy is unable to tempt you to be anxious about other moments rather than the one you are in. We are all in a major war and it is important to be clothed with Christ (the armor) in order to win the daily battles of staying present to the moments He invites us to step into. Don’t forget to praise God that He is the Ultimate Victor in this war! We just want to be His faithful warriors. Sit quietly in the presence of God  for a few minutes, apart from noise or other distractions. When you are comfortably settled there, release to Him whatever is causing you worry, anxiety, stress or concern. Ask Him to free you from the rushed, crazy pace of the world and to teach you how to be present to Him only. Picture the Father gently touching your head with the intent to release you from the rushed ways of the culture in order to transform you by renewing Your mind. Read, pray and meditate on Philippians 4:6-7  as a powerful way to overcome the distraction or worry of the other people, events, undone work, etc. that keep you from staying in the spiritually important moments: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” The Devil would like nothing more than to keep us from the moments when we are seeking God’s face, developing and maintaining meaningful relationships, and serving His kingdom. Practice staying present to God in every moment . He might wish to speak to you in the most difficult, awkward, or unexpected times. Practice being attentive in the midst of your everyday life. Whether you are overcome with joy, filled with uncertainty, or if you are running away from the moment due to fear or frustration, don’t disconnect from God’s presence. He is near – always. Practice focusing on and being present to other people.  (especially your family members) you are with by turning off your phone, and/or looking at them instead of an iPad, game or computer screen. Invite God into the moment and see if He doesn’t give you plenty of time to go back to the other things you feel are needing your attention. And, you will not damage relationships with people who feel you are just too busy or that they are not worth your time. Sometimes we miss opportunities God places in front of us because the enemy has succeeded in distracting us. He will even use good, godly things as distractions. What kingdom opportunities are lost because we aren’t staying in the God moments? Pray to stay present to God and to others:  Father, You are the Peace-giver, and the God who lives in each of my moments, who walks beside me, and who deserves my worship and my time. Keep me from being worried, stressed or distracted by things that rob me of the moments when You have directed me to people, situations or work that will build Your kingdom on this earth. Help me to keep my gaze focused on Your beautiful face consistently and purposefully. And, may I rest in the knowledge that You will care for the people and projects that are waiting for my attention so that I can stay focused on whoever You lead me to and whatever You desire me to accomplish for the glory of Your Name alone!