light in the darkness

Good Evening!

I pray you have had a blessed day today. It is a bit late for me to be submitting a post. However, I often find it is best to write when the thoughts are most fresh in my mind and on my heart. And here was the question which has been on my mind today:

Is there ever a time when darkness is preferable to light?

Yesterday – when I got to work in the morning, someone asked me about the tallit I was wearing. She advised that she wears hers when she goes to temple [for prayer]. I responded that I stay in prayer continually.

I find this to be especially true in this season of life. I would like to say it has always been that way. Yet, more than that, I need to be truthful and transparent in my communication. So I acknowledge that it is not always so. If I am completely honest, there are times when I find myself ‘pressing in’ due to an urgency to truly hear the voice of God – to know what He is saying to me, to seek His wisdom.

As I prayed this morning –

I found myself moving in and out of moments of clarity in hearing what the LORD was saying

When my eyes were closed, I would hear Him clearly speaking to me

When I opened my eyes, my sensitivity to His voice would vanish in an instant

This happened repeatedly this morning.

NOW – I am not one of those individuals who believes that one must close their eyes to pray. There are times when it simply is not practical: when I am at work, or driving, or cooking

BUT – This morning, it felt as through the LORD was speaking to me specifically through this element of opening my eyes or closing my eyes during time of prayer this morning.

AND – I kept feeling the press to close my eyes and to focus intently on what He was saying.

In the book of I Kings, the story of the Prophet Elijah is shared regarding a particular circumstance where he was experiencing uncommon challenges. Crying out to the LORD for an end to a season of drought, Elijah’s actions are captured in the section of scripture in I Kings 18:42: “And Elijah … bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.”

In my post 'On Bended Knee', I note how prayer is a vulnerable position, a place of humility and surrender, a position of trust.

And while we have no way of knowing whether the eyes of Elijah were opened or closed during this time of prayer, we do know that he was not in a place where he could easily see his circumstances or the effects of his prayer – which is why he had his servant to go check for a result. The report came back, ‘There is nothing’. Seven times he had to send his servant to check for the result of his prayer. Yet he was clearly hearing something from the LORD which created an expectation in his heart.

UNDERSTAND –

The appearance of your situation may not always be an accurate reflection of what the LORD has spoken or of who He is.

We are reminded from the post, 'Pray for Blindness?' :

“Eyes and vision are a blessing, but they can also be a hindrance.”

We understand from the post, 'Not by Sight':

“We cannot use situations to determine where we are in life. We must seek the presence of God and read the Word of God to maintain an accurate perspective of where we are in life.”

You may observe with your eyes lack and insufficiency

Yet it does not change the truth of what He said, ‘I will supply all your needs’

And it does not change who He is – Jehovah Jireh, the LORD who provides

Elijah understood the will of the LORD before he ever prayed, for he said to Ahab “…there is the sound of an abundance of rain” I Kings 18:41

Yet, it was Elijah’s ability to keep his eyes fixed on the LORD and not his circumstance which yielded an incredible result: “…the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling … [and] the power of the LORD came on Elijah” I Kings 18:45-46

There are times when we can see more with our eyes closed

There are times when we hear more in silence

There are times when darkness is preferable to light

Keep awaiting the manifestation of what He said

Keep pressing forward and always remember,

‘We walk by faith and not by sight.’ II Corinthians 5:7

May the Lord Bless You Abundantly!

Zenobia