Twelve Steps Of A.a. Step Eleven God's Will Revealed (2)
Tuesday December 1, 2015
Prayer to our gracious God, and meditation on God’s word are tools that help us rebuild our lives with God in recovery. In our daily devotions we are not seeking to simply learn facts about God but rather to come to Him, seeking to know His character and ways. As we draw closer to God we enter into a relationship with a loving friend who knew us before we were born, knows all about us, and cares deeply for us.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5 NKJV)
Sometimes, in relationship with people, we feel close to them and at other times disconnected and lonely. There is a deep longing in us for intimate personal sharing and understanding, trusting and being trusted. It's a God-created desire and God wants to fulfill that desire first through our relationship with Him. God wants to share the deepest secrets of His heart with us. God wants to confide in us. God desires to speak with us heart to heart about the things of heaven and earth that really matter. The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them." (Psalm 25:14 NIV)
The prayer and meditation to which Step 11 invites us is so much more than just trying to figure out what God’s plans are for us. Meditation and reading scripture show us all that God promises to do and be for us. Underneath all of these "spiritual exercises" is God's desire to confirm to us the heart of love He has for each of us, the heart that sent His son to die for us so that we might live forever with Him.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV) The Holy Spirit strengthens us to face the deepest, most confusing, most fearful, most painful, and most traumatized areas of our life. As we linger in His loving presence our whole being -- body, mind and spirit-- is renewed.
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