I was asking the Lord this morning what I should write on for my prayer blog today. A few minutes earlier I'd been praying for some friends who are undergoing some heavy trials and feeling oppressed. So I was asking myself, "How are we to deal with stress, heavy trials, and spiritual oppression?"
My mind drifted back to our time in the Philippines when I often felt spiritually oppressed. I remember closing my eyes and putting myself "in the heavenlies" where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. With that mental focus, the lines of strain would relax. It was as if I could breathe deeply of the air of heaven. Where He is all is peace. His sovereign rule and power extend over all, and nothing has unsettled His peace. I was reminded of the little poem by Robert Browning that ends with "God's in His heaven; all's right with the world." (see below)
My meditations on these things led me to one of my favorite verses: Isaiah 26:3. It says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (fixed) on You, because he trusts in You." The next verse goes on to say, "Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH the Lord is everlasting strength." Yes, that is the answer. Fixing our minds and hearts on God, breathing the air of heaven, trusting His everlasting strength to carry us through.
This is perhaps a form of prayer that we often overlook, forget, or neglect: simply putting ourselves in the presence of God in all His glory and majesty and beauty—and staying there, letting the sweetness and wonder of who He is fill our souls. Let us go often to this place of rest and peace, contemplating the character of our God, resting in who He is, worshiping Him in our spirits. Breathe deeply of Him. Reflect on Him—all that He is, all that He's done, and all that He's promised. Establish your soul in the truth.
“Pippa’s Song”
The year’s at the spring,
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven –
All’s right with the world!
Robert Browning (1812-1889)