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A Prayer for Being with Jesus

 

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Dear Lord Jesus, this simple story corrals my wandering heart this morning. Two unschooled, ordinary fishermen—Peter and John, were radically changed because of spending time with you. Their boldness was birthed from your beauty. They splashed grace wherever they went because of the grace you poured into their lives.

Oh, to be a man about whom others would be inclined to say, “He’s obviously been with Jesus. What else could explain his merciful heart for the broken, his courage in the face of injustice, and his calm in the presence of chaos?”

“What other motivation is there for loving so boldly, forgiving so quickly, and sharing so generously? What else could account for his patience when provoked, his loud laugh and his ready tears, the way he treats his wife and looks a stranger in the eye? Yeah, he’s been with Jesus, all right, because that’s not the same guy we remember from a while back.”

Lord Jesus, doing noble things for you is not the same thing as spending life-giving time with you. Thinking great thoughts about you is not the same thing as vital communion with you. Helping others understand the gospel is not the same thing as drinking presently and deeply from the wellspring of grace for myself. Refresh my communion with yourself, Lord Jesus. Renew my joy; get me back on the dance floor of Abba’s mercies; fill and overflow my heart with your lovingkindness.

Who or what do I have in heaven but you, Jesus? You make heaven heavenly. And being with you, I desire nothing on earth; because absolutely nothing else satisfies my soul like you do. My flesh and my heart may fail, but you, Jesus, are the strength of my heart and my portion, my banquet, my inheritance, forever. It is good, and it is enough, for me to be near you, my sovereign Savior and my loving refuge. So very Amen I pray, in your holy and compassionate name.

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