The other day I had a thirty minute car ride alone. Typically I’ll listen to the news or drive in silence with a noisy mind. But in this space I sensed a divine invitation: Be with Me. 

That day the inner chatter was louder than usual so I knew silent prayer wouldn’t do; distractions would prevail. So I prayed aloud (starting is the hardest part) and poured out honest emotions and requests. God’s presence went from intellectual to experienced. I had an awareness of being heard. Then came peace.

There is no formula, of course, for experiencing God’s presence; God does what God wants. But we know that one thing God always wants is to be in communion with us. And sometimes the simplest things — like praying alone out loud — can help us to move from unawareness to awareness, from distraction to presence. 

In his classic devotional Abide in Me, Andrew Murray reminds us that Jesus’ invitation is not just to come to Him but to stay with Him:

He [has] prepared for you an abiding dwelling with Himself, where your whole life and every moment of it might be spent, where the work of your daily life might be done, and where all the while you might be enjoying unbroken communion with Himself.

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So, Jesus, today help us stay with you, be present to you, abide in you. That’s the only place we will find the peace and rest and life and joy our souls are hungry for.