Awake!

It is not quite 6:30 a.m. and I have been awake now for almost two hours. Have you ever just been awakened from a very brief but restful sleep and you can't go back to sleep even though it is not nearly time to wake up, much less GET up? It happens to me every once in a while. I really believe it is the Holy Spirit prodding me to spend some time in quiet communion with God.

I've realized that when it happens, I usually have something that has been on my mind - in the far recesses of active thinking- that I need to make a decision about or come to some conclusion about. I've had several such things on my mind of late. For example, how to handle a situation with a friend who is going through a difficult time in her marriage; what I want to teach when I start teaching ladies Bible class later this fall; how all of my study about the spiritual disciplines will really affect my life and what effect that will have on others like my family and friends.

This morning I felt a calling to prayer. I've spent the past hour or more in prayer about the things I've mentioned. I praise God that He has given me direction and some answers. He is so good. I can't share all of the answers I have received this morning. Some of them are just too personal. My purpose in posting this morning is just to remind myself and anyone who cares to read this that God speaks to us in so many ways. I haven't always listened. I've had to learn to be quiet and be still. You don't have to wait for God to come to you. He is always there. We must learn to just be still and quiet and accept his presence. He wants to hear you and he wants to talk to you. That's why I was awake this morning. God called me through the Spirit, and we have had a great conversation!