I read something today that I thought was beautiful. It actually brought a tear to my eye and I have to share!
A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend and said how I feel bad that I often fall asleep while I am praying to my Heavenly Father. It really bothers me because I feel so bad that I can’t stay awake to talk my thoughts all the way through. Perhaps I’m boring even myself! How does he feel about that? It has bothered me to the point of tears because I felt something was wrong with my relationship with Jehovah that I could not even manage to stay awake to talk to him thoroughly.
The note I read today really painted a new picture for me, it was so beautiful and I want to share with others because I don’t feel I am the only person who suffers from these feelings. The idea is that when we pray, we are as small children being held by their nurturing mother, they feel very safe and comforted. When you feel these feelings, it is easy to relax and fall asleep. Hence, prayer is another way Jehovah comforts us, we know he hears us as we pour out our hearts, he takes all the anxieties of the day and gently pulls them away from us.
Prayer is the one thing Jehovah has kept for himself. We have been provided the privilege of praying to him through the merits of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. How loving it is that he personally wants to hear from us, he wants to know everything, the good and the bad, our anxieties, our joys, our thankfulness.
O Hearer of prayer, to you people of all sorts will come.
Psalm 65:2
I thought of a few scriptures that show us how he is like a loving parent, tenderly compassionate. Like a loving parent, he wants to know what is going on with us and he wants to help us, but we have to develop our relationship with him if we do not want our prayers to be hindered.
Like a shepherd he will care for his flock. With his arm he will gather together the lambs, And in his bosom he will carry them. He will gently lead those nursing their young.
Isaiah 40:11
Can a woman forget her nursing child Or have no compassion for the son of her womb? Even if these women forget, I would never forget you.
Isaiah 49:15
These scriptures show us that Jehovah looks at us as young children who need tender love and compassion, like that provided by a loving mother nursing her child, holding the child close to provide comfort and protection. How loving! When we pray to him, especially at the end of the day, or when we awake with anxious thoughts at night, he provides us with that same type of comfort that just melts away the anxieties and thoughts that are plaguing us and helps us to fall asleep as if we were being held in the arms of a loving mother who is saying, ‘it’s okay my sweet little one, momma’s here,’ those words, even if we were too young to understand them, provided comfort and security of knowing someone was there for us which helped us forget the anxiety for a moment and slip gently into sleep.
In conclusion, that one simple note I read today helped me lose my sense of guilt for falling asleep in prayer during the night. I now see that when I fall asleep while praying it is because my heavenly father sends Holy Spirit to comfort me and strip away the anxieties of the day. Now when I fall asleep during prayer at night I will consider it as though Jehovah has pulled me up to his chest and said, ‘it’s okay, I’m here, you can let it go and I will protect you’. How loving! Prayer is truly a gift from Jehovah!
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