Here I am, Lord. Send me. Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)
Here I Am – Present Series – Part 3
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5
Presence changes everything.
I used to believe (and still struggle with it) that value is performance based. I had to do good to be good.
But I'm beginning to realise and understand, that God doesn’t seek out my performance, my wealth accumulation, my success, and status.
Richard Rohr said: “In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship, in relation to a Presence that demands nothing of us but presence itself. Not performance but presence.”
This is prayer in its purest form. Not a collection of words and phrases that we use to communicate with God; not the recited language that flows off our tongues verbatim at a specific moment in time. Prayer is presence. It’s being still and knowing. It’s ceasing to pursue our worth in possessions and performance. It understands that God only requires one thing of us: presence.
There’s an ancient Hebrew word, “Hineini,” and it means “Here I am.” It’s not a geographical ‘here I am.’ It’s a strong, bold statement of presence in the midst of transition, fear, change, and transformation. It’s the word the child Samuel responded with when God called him in the middle of the night.
It was Isaiah answering the call of the Lord, “who can we send?” with, “Here I am, send me.” It’s the word you use when you’re looking life right in the face; the first breath you take after hearing good news, or bad news, knowing that everything is about to change.
It’s putting down your phone to play with your kids. It’s turning off the TV to have that important and confronting conversation with your partner. It’s choosing not to buy that new TV that you don’t need and using the money to help someone instead.
It’s listening to your neighbor's heartaches and those of your enemies, shrouded in anger and fear though they may be. It's humility and boldness and compassion and vulnerability. Present IN the moment.
Present in my life.
Present with my family.
Present in my job and art.
Present in my community.
Present as a global citizen.
Present: with my friends, in conversations; sickness and health, pain and joy, war and peace.
Here I am.
The good times?
The bad times?
In injustice?
In mercy?
In reckoning?
In standing up for those afflicted?
In acknowledging the pain and plight of others?
In taking responsibility?
In being wrong?
In forgiving and needing forgiveness?
In confusion and heartache?
Here I am.
Awake. Aware. Alive.
Your turn! Can you be more present in each moment? Leave us your comments below.
Go to Part 4 – Find Him »
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