Today is February 12.

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 book of Exodus, chapter 19.


The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said. After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day.  On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.


This story from the OT book of Exodus is an amazing one, recounting an encounter with God. As we enter into prayer today, consider a time you felt a profound sense of God’s closeness... have you ever had a spiritual experience of the Lord that felt like an ‘encounter’? If so, take some time to recall that experience. If not – speak to the Lord about that.
  
Listen to this text again and enter into what it might have felt like? The people experienced God in a sensory way: they felt, smelled, and saw something that was ‘out of this world’. Imagine the impact of this sort of experience.
  
As we end our time of prayer today, speak with the Lord about what this passage has called to mind. Ask God to continue to reveal himself to you, in still, small ways.

Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me through Your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of Your purpose, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: No Rush - Heaven and Earth - (YouTube)