The Power of One PrayerSample

COMMANDING PRESENCE

Not often does a person in trouble look up from their sobbing and cry, “Please, somebody, give me some commands!” The word commands is not generally seen in a positive light. Commanding someone sounds too authoritative, too bossy, and too pushy. People don’t want to be commanded—they’d rather be guided, led, or called. Yet God commands. When people come into His commanding presence in prayer, they do find comfort. Why? Because when the foundations of your life are shaken, you want to hold on to something real, true, that will not and cannot be moved. The law of the Lord is that.

Moreover, His law is good. The more you meditate on His Word, the more you’ll be convinced of this. God’s laws for living together and loving one another are evidence of a mind high above ours—a mind not hampered by a constant focus on self. Use the laws of God in your prayer time, and you will be forced to think about others, consider what it means to live in community, and put others before yourself. In that process, the sorrow and trouble that is weighing you down will not disappear but will be put in proper perspective and, thus, become a little bit of a lighter load.

Lord, thank You for the comfort You bring us in Your law. Amen.