The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm 23 is a widely quoted psalm as it tells us how intimately close God is to us. “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.” He makes me lie down giving me rest and He refreshes my soul. God guides my steps and keeps me safe. Joy, goodness, and love are always with me because He is with me.
Too often, we forget how close God really is. We are fretful and make poor choices because while we say we believe God is with us, if we are honest with ourselves, we feel we are alone in this world. We stress about how to take care of ourselves because we don’t trust God to do it.
The Lord is Near
Prayer is the greatest tool God has given us not because it is a means of getting things from God but because it reminds us that He is always present. When we come to prayer it is not to state our requests before the Almighty genie. Prayer is how we connect with our Heavenly Father.
The greatest benefit of prayer is the connection. It reminds us that He is always with us, He hasn’t left us, and He wants to take care of us. God is working everything for the good of those who love Him because He cares for us (Romans 8:28 & 1 Peter 5:7). When we pray, we allow our minds to remember that God is close, we allow our hearts to feel His love, and we find our hope.
You are not alone. God has never left you alone. With all of the things you are stress or worried about, let your mind rest on the fact that God has not left you alone and wants to work on your behalf. Then listen. What do you feel He would say about your situation?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Check out these books for more on this topic:
1. An Extreme God for An Extreme Life by April Chapman
2. God Is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg