Rest and Be Grateful - Your Nightly Prayer - March 25th

Rest and Be Grateful
Your Nightly Prayer
by Meg Bucher

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11

SOMETHING TO PONDER

Sleep deprived. 

I knew there was something wrong. Even though every symptom I experience leads me to fear death, they hadn’t stacked up by coincidence. At the age where I add friends to my prayer list for serious things, I never take it for granted that it might be my turn to be added to theirs. I found today’s verse printed in large block letters on a page of a book I recently finished on a plane ride about eliminating hurry from my life. A lesson God had been compounding upon after convicting me to start confessing the sin of busyness about a year ago. Sermons about Sabbath, quotes about rest, reels about getting quiet …I could feel Him chasing after me like my mother with an important telephone message in the 90’s.

I am exhausted. It’s been years in the making, and if I don’t figure out how to slow down, I’ll be slowed down. The apostle Paul spoke as bluntly as my neurologist. As I read the words of Paul’s letter, I felt completely exposed on that plane ride. I am the girl who loves to be friends with everyone, to say "yes," and to put aside whatever I am doing to be present with and help people. Throughout different seasons of my life, God has been faithful to convict me of my lack of healthy boundaries and limits, and to help me learn how to say "no" and to carve out time to be still with Him. It was time to pull back again. To reprioritize, rest, and take more time to do what I crave and love the most ...spend time in Bible Study. With every side trail and commentary I pulled off the shelf, I could feel my soul delight and be replenished.

How do we stop our lives when we’re exhausted?  I’m learning what it means to be still, one step at a time. My life depends on it. I run four miles a day, five days a week, no matter the weather. I can figure out how to run through snow, on ice, and in subzero temperatures …surely, I can learn how to be still. “Make it your ambition to live a quiet life,” another translation says. Quiet would never be a word anyone who knows me would use to describe me. But the Lord has been faithful to teach me, meet me, and lead me. 

As I put the first prints on the snow-covered trail one morning, three deer ran across the path in front of me. A few strides later, a wolf joined the path 500 feet in front of me and then disappeared into the woods. None of these animals even noticed me. God doesn’t need our busyness to maintain the state of the world. But he does long for us to participate in it. Slowing, even when we’re running, to take in the full experience of being alive on this earth. To live a quiet life, following Jesus, so that when we walk out into the world, our joy is undeniable and we have what we need to love all of the people in our lives.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Father,
Give me the words you want me to speak, write, and even think. Grow godly wisdom in me, and help me to stand fully mature and assured of everything you will for my life. Give me the strength I need to rest …and to sleep! I confess my busyness and foolish assumption that things cannot possibly run smoothly without my direction. Teach me how to abide in you, to wait on you, and run stride for stride with you. I want to notice every little detail, God. Slow me, even in the rush, to see life through your perspective.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. Even if it’s not the first thing you do today, schedule time to spend with God, and stick to it. 

2. Ask God, in prayer, what it means to live a quiet life, and write down anything He presses upon your heart.

3. Confess your busyness and receive God’s forgiveness and healing. Listen for His direction, and be blessed as you seek Him daily.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/fizkes

Meg is a graduate of Ashland University. She is a writer, author, editor, and digital content creator. She stepped away from her job in Internet Marketing in 2008 to raise her daughters, which gave her passion for writing a chance to shine through her blog, Sunny&80… Life within the Love of Christ. Meg has served as a Children’s Worship Team Leader and Middle School Leader for her local church. She founded and led the Breakfast Club Bible Study for Tweens, has served as a Young Life Leader and Committee Member, and led Women’s Bible Study. She has also volunteered as a content creator for her local church, studied Bible/Ministerial Training through Global University, and completed COMPEL PRO Writers Training. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the team at Salem Web Network. You can find her entire library of books on her Amazon Author Page. 

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