“How are you… really? What do you need? What are you hoping for? How can I pray for you?” When someone expresses genuine personal interest in you it is healing. When you open up to grace it is life-giving.
But somewhere along the line we all have felt rejected… devalued… unknown… lost…
And we have learned to deny our hurts… not have emotional needs… distract ourselves from our inner pain… isolate…
We must come to the point where we cry out to God with the Psalmist: “May my cry come before you, O Lord… May your hand be ready to help me… I long for your salvation… I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant” (Psalm 119:169, 173-4, 176).
Jesus Christ answers this prayer – the first time you pray it to become a Christian and everyday that you are hurting or lost in some way. He promised us: “I go after my lost sheep until I find it” (Luke 15:4, paraphrase).
The Good Shepherd is always looking for you – to know you and be known by you, to invite you into a more personal and loving relationship. The question for you and for me – right now and every moment of every day – is are we looking to connect with Him?
Pray with me my little prayer inspired by the last verses of Psalm 119:
O Jesus, I have strayed like a lost sheep. May your hand help me…
Cry out to the Good Shepherd! Repeat the prayer of the Psalmist again and again, slowly, until it lives in you and your heart is warmed with the realization: the Spirit of Christ is indeed living in me and He is shepherding my soul in love now and always!
O Jesus, I have strayed like a lost sheep. May your hand help me…
Learning to Abide in Prayer has helped me to connect deeply with Christ’s love and to share it with others. I do it everyday. I invite you to practice with me this delightful way of prayerful meditation on Scripture.
The Bible is full of wonderful promises that God loves us in the way that a shepherd cares for his sheep. As part of a retreat I lead that is based on Psalm 23 I share Bible verses on the theme of “Walking with Good Shepherd.”
