PRAYER FOR TODAY MONDAY 7TH AUGUST 2023 – A PRAYER TO DIVE INTO TRUE REST

DAILY PRAYER AND SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY.

Engage these Daily Prayer and Scriptures for today. Take to God all that you desire in prayers, while you watch restfully as he steps into situations to bring out beauty and colour in your live. Today, as you commune with God, know that God has settled all that concerns you, Just believe and pray with faith in your heart. Remain blessed in Jesus name, Amen.

Today’s Prayer is Authored by: Kristine Brown

Prayer Focus for Today 7th August 2023: A Prayer to Dive Into True Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11: 28 – 30

I stood at the top of the diving platform, jutting out from the side of the small ship, and looked out across the wide tranquil expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. Then I studied the frothing blue abyss below and deliberately inhaled a sharp intake of air. My feet pushed out and launched my body upwards, creating an awkward arch in the azure sky before the weight of gravity pulled me down to the waters, and I fell through the mellow waves, dropping like a heavy stone as I disappeared into the depths. My breath was knocked out as I plummeted into the deep. A cold rush streamed across, and I sensed a freezing darkness. I was floating alone, far below the surface of the waves.

It was very exhilarating, and I quickly felt insignificant and lonely in this sublime marine underworld. I didn’t know what surrounded me. I felt a strange sense of vulnerability and exposure. My lungs started to throb in need of oxygen, and I began kicking my feet furiously, pulling myself upwards towards the light in clumsy maneuvers. The swim to safety seemed endless until I broke the surface and gulped fresh air. The ship was still there, and I crawled slowly until I reached a metal ladder to get back on board.

A year later, I stood in a large basin inside a church building in a city in the north of England. Two men – older than me, full of love and wisdom – stood at my side. I proclaimed my identity in Jesus Christ publicly. Then hands gently laid hold of me to plunge me into a pool of water. I wanted to stay under that water forever. It wasn’t the physical liquid that absorbed me but the sense of closeness to Christ. It was a different feeling than my dive off the ship into the deep Mediterranean. That time I felt exhilarated but then quickly afraid and alone. This time, in these baptism waters, I felt at home. I was pulled out of the waters with a smile on my face and a crowd cheering in celebration. I am not alone. When I was in the sea, I had to push to the surface by myself. In the baptism, the hands of godly men held my arms and helped me.

Do you have memories of moments in your life that stand out like that? When you experienced how different the closeness of God feels compared to times when you’ve felt alone? There have been many hills to climb and valleys to get through since my baptism. I have limped rather than run the race. The promise of Jesus stands firm. Come to him if you feel weary. Come to him however you feel. Come and rest. He wants us to do this with our lives: to rest in Him every day and open the door for others to rest in him too. Remember his words in John 6:37:

“I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.”

Life-changing words, which still hold true. I encourage you to spend time reflecting upon this beautiful invitation from God: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.” (Isaiah 55: 1 -2)

PRAYER FOR TODAY.

Let’s pray:
Father of all compassion. You have known me since before I was born. Thank you for being with me in every moment of my life, and I am your child. Help me to order my memories and put them where they belong—forgetting the unhelpful moments of the past and straining for the joy ahead—recollecting times of closeness to you. More than anything, when I said publicly, that moment of baptism, I belong to you. Today, I commit my life to you again and, in your precious name, the service of others. Amen.

This Is the Assurance of Answers to Your Prayers – Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM!