Prayer and God’s Presence
Jun 11, 2023 | Phillip Robinson
Isaiah 43:1 ESV “But now thus says the Lord, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
A few months ago, my wife Susan and I spent a few days out of state with our newest granddaughter Reese, who was three weeks old at the time. It had been a while since I had spent consecutive days helping care for a newborn, and God used the experience to refresh and deepen my prayer life.
When a baby has a need, the only way she can communicate is to cry and, in the first few months, her needs are extremely basic.
“I am hungry; feed me!”
“I am uncomfortable; fix it!”
“I am lonely or frightened; I need to feel you!”
As those needs are about to be addressed, there are words that little Reese needs to hear before any action is taken. She needs to hear, “Reese, I am here.”
Prayer (crying out to God) isn’t much different from a newborn’s crying out, is it? I go to God with physical and emotional needs, but I often miss the initial answer to my prayer, which is, “Phillip, I am here.” I am too impatient to get to my needs to find immediate rest in the fact that the Creator of the universe and the Redeemer of my soul is with me and knows me by name! This perspective helps me be confident that God always answers my prayers with His Presence, even though I may not get everything I ask of Him in my prayers. I’ve heard it said we don’t need things from Jesus; we simply need Jesus.
The next time you pray, pause to hear, “I am here” from God, and during that pause, find joy in the truth that God is present with you and that nothing can separate you from His love – a truth promised in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
