psalm 119:58

58 - I entreated thy favor

with my whole heart:

be merciful unto me

according to thy word.

Prayer is chiefly a heart work.  

God heareth the heart without the mouth, 

but never heareth the mouth acceptably without the heart.

~ Walter Marshall

God and coffee.  The first-fruits of the day...just me and Him.  As my brain slowly comes from sleep into the conscious world, my first thoughts go to the chair, the Word, the time we are about to spend together.  I am eager, I am ready...I anticipate the minutes alone with Him before the day sounds intrude upon the stillness and the unrepentant wheel of busyness of what is every day of my life begins to turn, unrelenting, unapologetically, unbroken...steady as the clock...demanding all the minutes and all the energy I will be able to produce on this day.  

The coffee drips steadily into the cup and I want to say, "Hurry.  The morning is passing even now.  Don't steal our time."

Mug in hand, I settle into the chair with His Word, Him, and utensils to record the words and thoughts that will be born in my heart.  I open His Word and pray my morning request of asking Him to reveal His ways through our time together, and...

And my brain skips ahead.  The first appointment is at 10 am.  Set the phone alarm, so I won't lose track of time and be late.  

Read a line.  And my brain goes to the clothes in the dryer that were left in last night and should really be removed before they get so wrinkled they will need re-washing.

Read the same line.  And my brain goes to the health of my loved one...did they fare well during the night?...the dog is scratching at the door wanting back in...thoughts of what was to be prepared for the afternoon meeting crowd my brain...I hear footsteps upstairs and wonder if someone up there is an early bird today wanting to have a few minutes of conversation before they family splits into separate ways and...STOP!

I need thee, O I need thee.  

And I do what He has taught me to do...I pull a curtain around my mind, I entreat Him to shut out the noise of what the day will bring, and I come to Him with my heart.  Not my head, not my words, my heart.

And, when I do that, He is right there.  Every single time.  He pulls me into His presence...the stillness of the atmosphere becomes praise and worship that crescendos in my heart and mind to the exclusion of all else...and I am in His presence.

I have found that it is impossible to talk to Him with just my mouth or my mind.  I am reciting words.  I must allow my heart to speak.  And, in His mercy, He hears my heart and meets me in my humanity.

Every time.

© 2012 by Melani Brady Shock