Cultivating A Spirit that is Attentive to God’s Presence

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

One of my greatest struggles is in being still. Like Martha, I have a to-do list that commands my attention each morning. If I’m not intentional about creating time with God first thing each day, I can easily be distracted by the ‘doing’ and miss the ‘being;’ being at Jesus’ feet, being attentive to His voice, cultivating a spirit that is receptive to God’s presence.

It is critical – as disciples of Christ – to balance our ‘doing’ with ‘being.’ We can work ourselves to the bone in service to God yet become spiritually dry because we fail to carve out time to be filled by His Spirit. “Our frenetic pace can radically reduce our awareness of Jesus even though He is plainly among us” (cslewisinstitute.org).

If you haven’t already, make it a priority to start every day in fellowship with Jesus. Read a passage of Scripture, study His word, and pray. That to-do list can wait a little bit longer while you spend time at His feet. Trust me, your day will be better for it.

Prayer: Lord, create in me a spirit that is attentive to your presence. Remove those distractions that shift my attention away from your voice. Fill me with you more and more each day. In your name I pray, Amen.

Thought: “God’s presence is not something we create by our efforts. It is always God’s gift to us totally independent of what we do. For, in reality, God is always present; it is we who need to be awakened to God’s presence. The biblical truth and resulting comfort that we must remember is that God is always with us.” Tom Schwanda