PRAYER ANDÂ SUPPLICATION
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Excepted from the hymn of the same title written by Joseph L. Hall and published in 1868. The following lyrics adapted/arranged by BIll & Gloria Gaither
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​Sitting at the feet of Jesus
There I love to weep and pray;
While I from His fullness gather
Grace and comfort every day.
Bless me, O my Savior, bless me,
As I seek more at Thy feet
Oh, look down in love upon me,
Let me see Thy face so sweet...
May I prove I've been with Jesus
Who is all my righteousness.
Sitting at the feet of Je-sus.
DEVOTION
And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. [Exodus 34: 2 KJV]
Devotion is what I want to do when first I open my eyes in the mornings. But something nearly always crosses my path, infiltrates my mind and gets in my way. In the wee hours of any morning, my head has a lot to say about what to do with my day as I linger in bed. My wanton mind saunters into worldly spaces—the news, email, phone messages and without effort I wander into what most captures my curiosity. The waywardness of my mind—this laziness and lack of discipline, is the source of recurring anxieties about my devotional practices.
LOVE
Love is in the Air...
After church one day, two men stopped me in my path to speak. Not so unusual you might say, but considering the intentionality of the exchange it caught my attention. The one man is a deacon whom I know is married and means no untoward behavior. The other though, engaged with me just a little too long, all smiles and focusing squarely on me. As I reached the door I remembered something, and I smiled.
For a woman of a certain wisdom, it is noticeable when a man just wants to interact. So there I was, suddenly remembering when I might have been tickled by this. We’d had an interaction or two before, this man and I. But he demurred and now here he was, eager! The truth is, though I might have been interested in companionship and had an open mindset, it was not God’s plan. But my disappointment allowed me to wallow in self-pity just long enough to let God intervene. And in that, I found the quietude I needed to follow His leading.
Valentine’s is a tricky day for those of us who are romantically unattached. The world blares at us in red and pink, in roses, poses, and chocolates. Over-the-top declarations of love are burnished in our minds and haunt us if we are not careful. But I learned that love includes me, that as unapologetically religious as it sounds, the greatest giver of love is God. If we are wrapped in His love, we feel whole. We are whole. And we can stop holding our breath waiting for someone else—anyone else—to bring us, love. Forgiving ourselves for our imperfections in character and of the heart, enables us to love ourselves without condition.
