St Peters RC Church Hamilton

“ ‘Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’.” (Matthew 18 v 3)

What should we do in the stillness of prayer?

God will hear us be we anywhere.

So let us prepare to share with Him.

Make ready to meet Your Sovereign,

His authority based in Three Persons.

We call this mystery ‘The Trinity’.

Prepare to meet with the Lord God Almighty, the Trinity.

This is no ordinary encounter.

We shelter under the wings of love and mercy.

What then is the godly purpose?

Why do we meet like this?

Prayer is probably a heartfelt invocation,

A petition or maybe a submission.

It depends upon what is on our heart,

Or uppermost in our mind causing concern.

Speak of any anxiety and seek counsel.

We may be referenced to a particular Scripture.

The written word of God being sacred,

“Given by inspiration of God,

Is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,

For correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3 v 16)

And so is well worth praying about.

We pray hoping to learn to obey,

To breathe in of the Holy Spirit,

He who is the Lord God’s Breath of Life,

And to meet the Lord Jesus in friendship.

He is the Saviour by whom we can stand comfortably,

Before the mercy seat of our Father.

We pray to be together conscientiously, uninterruptedly.

We pray to adore more and more,

Or to repent of wrong thinking, desiring our doing.

We pray to make the day go smoothly.

“ ‘...the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth’.” (John 4 v 23, 24)

But mostly we pray to enjoy God’s holy company,

And to express our gratitude for all the Lord in Three,

The Almighty Creator, is to us, His redeemed people.

We think of the †, of the forgiveness Jesus won for us.

We exalt and esteem such gracious mercy.

But underlying whichever way we pray,

Is the fact that we are made to be beneficiaries,

Brought more fully alive to thrive joyously in God’s company.

In the stillness of this quiet time, God comes to us.

We wish to show our love, respect and devotion.

Prayer is a time of glorious emotion,

Our heart and mind given over to worship,

Truly rejoicing to do this through the Lord Jesus,

His Spirit alive in us, teaching us to pray.

And if we experience as can sometimes be the case,

An uncomfortable time of dryness,

In our prayer, not really seeming to share anything truly worthwhile,

Not speaking nor seeking anything of eternal value,

Well even then, we need not worry,

For our Father of mercy is fully understanding.

It is because of our weakness He sends Jesus to us.

In dryness of prayer, strive not to share,

Simply be, be content in God’s company,

For currently that is enough to qualify as our offering.

It could even be in silent suffering, we make

Or take before the Lord our God, our highest adoration.

The stillness of a prayer space, a quiet place,

A meeting in the silence of rapt reverence,

This can be our offering for now, made to the Trinity.

God in His mercy, is always delighted to find us praying.

Perhaps all that we need be saying is ‘I love You, Lord’.

For giving yourself to God fully, this is our finest worship,

As we devote further to the Lord Jesus, looking to the Spirit of holiness.

“ ‘For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost’.” (Matthew 18 v 11)

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46 v 10)

Lord God, through the Lord Jesus, by means of the Spirit, may we ever exalt You as we pray, whether speaking, reading, listening or simply enjoying Your company, hoping to become more holy.

Thank You so much for prayer. Please may Your Spirit reiterate this as a daily offering, to be more than an array of worry and concerns or a shopping list of requests, or saying we are sorry.

May each prayer time be a time of praise, of adoration, of admiration for all aspects of Your provision and protection of us. May we fully worship in heart and mind, ever thoughtfully regarding the † of the Lord Jesus.

Thank You for gifting us this means of worship. We rejoice in Your friendship. You are “The LORD of hosts (who) is with us...our refuge.” and You help us to enter the day strengthened in faith, fortified as You are glorified. (Psalm 46 v 11)

Lord God, accept our worship as we rejoice to just be in Your company, “For You are the King of all the earth.” Please accept the praise we bring, even if this is a silent offering as we simply rejoice in Your friendship, wherein is our keenest hope, our deepest peace and our highest joy. (based on Psalm 47 v 7)

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker,” our Father, our Saviour Brother and our Sanctifier, for You are our everything necessary for a happy, holy life. (Psalm 95 v 6) Amen.