Prayer & Fasting 2022 // Day 4

Heather Hanna

January 20, 2022

"O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me."

Psalms 131:1-2 ESV

If you're anything like me, you've found the past couple of years just slightly overwhelming. All too frequently my mind has been occupied with the "great and marvelous" (or difficult as another translation appropriately puts it) things of this world. Covid, loved ones lost, injustice everywhere, churches falling apart, a seemingly endless list of brokenness and suffering all around us... just to name a few. Needless to say, my soul has been far from calmed and quieted and the weight of it all has become far too heavy. Matthew 11:28 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Perhaps you too are feeling weary and burdened, and today we could both be blessed by the reminder that Jesus calls us to Him in this moment and He offers us rest.

As we begin 2022 I find myself asking God to make me more like David in Psalm 131 who declares that he will not be proud or keep his eyes on things that He cannot control. Can you imagine if we entered this New Year with a calm and quiet soul and with our eyes on God, trusting that He is in control? Let the image of baby content in its mother's arms be the assurance of the kind of rest Jesus offers when we bring our burdens, and re-focus our eyes on Him. As you choose obedience to fasting and prayer over these 10 days, I pray that your spirit is re-aligned with the Holy Spirit in such a way that you are granted the rest of a calmed and quieted soul.