Be Still: Daily Devotional

Today is Wednesday, the fourth day of Holy Week.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 26:14-16

"14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over."

On Wednesday of Holy Week, we consider an action of betrayal. One friend prepares to turn another friend in to the authorities. One friend turns another friend over to his death. Judas Iscariot had been with Jesus along with the other disciples. He’d seen the same miracles. He’d heard the same messages. He’d walked the same paths. He’d listened to Jesus talk about the kingdom of God. How do you imagine this shift toward cynicism and betrayal grew in Judas’ heart?

“What are you willing to give me?” These remind me of the kind of words that invite temptation to vice.
The real question they’re asking is more important: “What am I willing to sell out for?” “What’s the price of my friendship? My loyalty? My faithfulness?” As you listen to the passage again, consider what Judas’ frame of mind must have been like in this moment.

"14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over."

Thirty pieces of silver. Not a ton of money. Not an insignificant amount either. Scholars disagree about the value. But we know that after the exchange, Judas had regrets. He was remorseful. He went to the chief priests and tried to return the money. Why? He was clearly a conflicted man. “What are you willing to give me?” he asked. But Jesus had already answered that question when he said: I have come that you might have life – and life to the full! As we end our time today, can you identify with Judas’ remorse? Can you feel his sudden realization that it’d gone all wrong? Can you sit with Judas, head in his hands, full of grief and sorrow? Trying to make it right? But can you, like Judas did not, cast your sorrows and regrets and repentance onto Christ himself, and find yourself welcomed back, yet again, into His care and keeping?

Music Credit:
Have Mercy (feat. Napsai Orlai) - Heaven Ane Earth (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is Tuesday, the third day of Holy Week.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 21:45-46

"45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet."

The chief priests had a lot going on when it came to their interactions with Jesus: they were listening to him. They felt paranoid maybe, knowing he was talking about them. They were angry, and wanted to arrest him. They were also afraid of the crowd. Imagine you were one of
them. Imagine you were convinced you were in the right. You were the moral and religious leader.
Imagine how you would feel, struggling with the strangeness of the message of Christ.

We don’t often take time to consider the pharisees in the Bible. They were very religious people. They were leaders. They were so certain in their followership of God. Yet there were also fearful, angry, and paranoid. Murderous, even. As you listen again, consider the pharisees in this text. What feelings or thoughts does it bring up? Is there anything about their religiosity, their rigid moralism, their judgementalism.... that feels familiar?

"45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet."

A part of Holy Week is recognizing that we find parts of ourselves all the way through it, in every scene, every day. We find ourselves in the singing crowds at Palm Sunday, buying and selling in the Temple on Monday... watching Jesus turn tables... and today – maybe we find ourselves in the Pharisees as well. Maybe there are parts of our hearts that are angry. Or judgmental. Or afraid. As we end our time of prayer, bring all of the parts of yourself to Jesus.

Music Credit:
Are You Who You Say You Are? (feat. Paul Cullen) - Heaven And Earth (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is Monday the second day of Holy Week.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark 11:15-17

"15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’

In the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus enter the temple courts making what can only be described as a scene. If yesterday the people saw him as a humble king... riding into Jerusalem on a donkey... today he’s a frustrated prophet: loud, interruptive, and speaking judgement. Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah in this text.... Something he was seeing in the temple must have reminded him of that old scripture. Imagine being in the crowd as Jesus was going around overturning tables. What would that have felt like?

There would have been nothing unusual about all the buying and selling, even the money changing. That was standard fare. It was like a market in a city center, providing supplies for the pilgrims who journeyed there. But something about it had become bent, or twisted. The motivations had become disordered. It was likely that the money changers were keeping -people with less means from being able to worship God in the Temple. Maybe it was greed, or selfishness, or turning what was meant to be spiritual into what was simply mechanistic or utilitarian. Whatever it was precisely, on this day of

Holy Week, Jesus reminds us to take our place in his house – seriously. To not forget how easy it is to get coopted by materialism or the
culture around us. To stay, as Jesus quote Jeremiah: a house of prayer for all nations. As you listen to the scripture again, listen for the heart underneath Jesus’ actions and words.

"15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’

As we enter Holy week, consider that we often hold the same paradoxes and tensions that the temple did that day: we’re filled with spiritual motivations, and filled with disordered motivations. What are the tensions you find in your own self today? Is there any place in your heart, or your mind, or your actions that Jesus might want to turn upside down? To make right? Ask God for grace today to receive him as prophet, and for humility to hear his words of correction and reordering over your life.

Music Credit:
House Of Prayer (feat. Kenyatta Pinkney) - Heaven And Earth (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is the 38th day of Lent

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10:32-34

"32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

The disciples were astonished, and those who followed Jesus were afraid. The disciples seem confused in this part of the gospels. Jesus keeps telling them what’s going to happen, and that he’s got to go away. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine what it would feel like to hear your best friend, your leader, your hope… say these words to you?

As you listen to the scripture again, put yourself in their sandals and try to hear with their ears: They don’t know what you know. They don’t know the Easter story. All they know is that Jesus of Nazareth, who has demonstrated to them a new kind of Kingdom, is telling them he is going to be condemned, mocked, tortured, and killed. Can you imagine their experience of crisis and confusion?

"32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

As we head toward Holy Week, it can be easy to skip straight to Easter and the historic Christian celebration of the miraculous resurrection of the Christ. But can you slow down a bit? Can you enter into Holy Week one day at a time? Can you allow yourself to feel the anticipation, the confusion, the crisis, the fear, the despair… that comes between now and Easter Sunday? AS we end our time of prayer today, and as we look toward Holy Week, choose several individuals to pray for by name… pray for their faith to be stirred up or maybe enlivened for a first time, pray for their passion for God to grow, and pray for the Spirit of God to draw near to them as Easter approaches.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent for Christians starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on either the evening of Maundy Thursday or on sundown of Holy Saturday (day before Easter Sunday). However, the practices of Lent do not end until sundown on Holy Saturday for all Christian denominations. So it is 44 days from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday and another two days with Good Friday and Holy Saturday added to give a total of 46 days for Lent. But Sundays are excluded from fasting during Lent and with 6 Sundays removed from the count we get lent being a 40-day liturgical period.

Music Credit:
Abounding Grace - Vineyard Soul (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is the 37th day of Lent

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Book of Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1:1-11
"1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

A summary for this whole passage could be, “When you love someone with the love of Christ, you pray for them. Love is the motive and the fuel for prayer.” The Apostle Paul is praying for the church in the city of Philippi. He is overflowing with thanksgiving as he prays. Why? He says, “because I have you in my heart.” He says that he “longs for them with the affection of Jesus.”

Can you identify with Paul’s words here? Think for a moment about someone that God has hidden away in your heart. Is there someone in your life that you long for with the affection of Jesus? Call that person to mind.
What is it about that person that God has placed in your heart to pray for that person? As you hear Paul’s words again, try and pray Paul’s prayer over the person that God has hidden away in your heart.

"1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

As we close our time today, don’t forget to pray for yourself. Pray that the good work that God began in you would be carried through to completion. Pray that your love may abound more and more and that you may be able to discern God’s best. And pray that you may be kept pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music Credit:
Above All Else - Vineyard Soul (YouTube)


Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is the 36th day of Lent

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from Jeremiah 32:36-41

"36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul."

Sometimes Old Testament scriptures are confusing. On the one hand, God seems to be like a jealous God, or He seems to speak out of anger. But then suddenly we also see a revelation of his character as a rescuer, as a redeemer, as a protector. How do scriptures like this make you feel when you read them?

God reveals himself through scripture as not just a God who loves, but as a God who IS love. He also is revealed as a God who IS love and who is always in pursuit of those He loves. There is a wonderful poem from the English poet Francis Thomspon called The Hounds of Heaven… Thompson suffered from depression and lived a life of drug addiction and poverty. He writes that he fled from God… and he ends the poem with these words: “Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He Whom thou seekest!” As you listen again, listen to the voice of God seeking after His people:

"36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul."

Like the poet, many of us at many times run away from God. We’re like the prodigal son… looking for the best the world has to give while running in the wrong direction. Is there anywhere in your life that you’re running from God? Running from a reconciliation? Running from a confession? Running from a calling to vocation? As we end, could you imagine yourself slowing down, getting still, and inviting God to be present to the thing you’re running from?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music Credit:
Eternal Light - Heaven & Earth (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is the 35th day of Lent

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from the Book of Ephesians chapter 2.

"1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Lent is a season of reflection where we consider things in our lives that pull us away from the love of God. The Apostle Paul specifically mentions our tendency to gratify the cravings of our flesh and follow its desires and thoughts. He says that even though we try to gratify ourselves, we can’t, and they make us spiritually dead. Think for a moment about the cravings that you have in your life. How are you trying to fill those cravings with worldly things?

You have been raised to life with Christ. Christ is now your means of fulfilling your cravings. As you hear the passage again, imagine God filling every desire with his love. Imagine him being the fulfillment of every craving that you have. Imagine yourself coming back to life as he fills you.

"1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

As you continue through your day, remind yourself that this is a work of grace from beginning to end. You didn’t start it, and you can’t complete it. God rescued you when you were dead, God is bringing you to life, and God will raise you up on the last day. Thank God for his incredible grace in your life.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music Credit:
Adore Him - Vineyard Worship/Samuel Lane (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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Today is the 34th day of Lent

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from Psalm 143

"1 LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. 2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. 3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. 4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. 5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6 I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land."

The Psalmist sounds at his end, doesn’t he? He feels pursued, crushed, like he dwells in darkness. His heart feels faint, and his spirit is dismayed. Have you ever felt so entirely spent? Like you’ve got barely a drop of energy left? Or barely a drop of faith left? Take the next quiet moments to honestly consider this question: what’s the condition of your own soul today? If you were to paint a picture of the state of your soul right now, what would that picture look like?

Maybe you feel full of life, like a small child filled with energy . Maybe you feel fierce and committed, like a strong tree standing against a storm. Or maybe, like the psalmist, you feel like a parched land… Dry. Dusty. Dismayed. Listen to the psalm again and note the actions that he takes alongside giving voice to how he’s feeling.

"1 LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. 2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. 3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. 4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. 5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6 I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land."

The Psalmist remembers. Meditates. Considers. He spread out my hands to God. He thirsts for God. The Psalmist brings his whole self to God. Do you know that you can bring your whole self to God? Not only the parts that are happy and healthy? But the parts that are in pain? The parts that feel shadowed? The parts that hurt? Actually, let’s say that another way: did you know that God is already present to your whole self. He is always near to you. In His faithfulness and righteousness, He will come to your relief. As we end our time of prayer today, consider giving your word to taking a few moments during your day around lunch, and again around dinner, where you will take a moment to quiet yourself, take a deep breath, and sit in stillness for a few moments inviting God to make you aware of His presence.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music Credit:
Catch Your Breath - Vineyard Worship (YouTube)

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

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This is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.

Be Still: Daily Devotional with Eric and Julia Pickerill.
Originally produced at Vineyard Columbus and republished by permission.

Subscribe: Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-still-daily-devotional/id1662156224 | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1vRcmmVmxUU579ZsOFcT1X | Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c57a529f-db23-427f-87fb-e01cb8ca6b78

More at pickerill.casa