Better Than a Cup of Coffee

One afternoon during the early '80s when the Women Alive organization was being formed, I had an hour break between a draining planning session and our neighborhood Bible study. One lady invited a visitor, so I felt a special need to be prepared and refreshed. Instead, I felt drained. I think I'll have a cup of coffee and relax a bit, I thought. But then I had another idea. Why not kneel and relax in God's presence?

 I knelt with my open Bible to simply commune with God. That time of communion not only strengthened and totally refreshed me for that day, but words from Scripture that He gave me in those minutes have been words of promise I've claimed again and again.

Be still, and know..." (Psalm 46:10). There comes a deep inner knowing in our spirits when we quiet ourselves in His presence.

In Open Heart, Open Home, Karen Mains writes, "I have come to learn how important it is to sit in silence before my Maker. The time for words and pleas and explanations is over. The Word has been studied and now the pages are shut. Now to listen. Now to keep one's mind fixed on Him. Now to be silent. Often when I leave these times of contemplation I am filled with His Presence."

As we come again and again into God's renewing presence, our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit increases as well as our ability to hear God. What happens in our private prayer determines our ability to hear Him throughout our day.

 "I wait quietly before [You,] God" (Psalm 62:1 NLT).

"Come here and listen to me! I'll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise" (Proverbs 1:23 NLT).