Stop preparing your defenses
for the jury of this world –

Lay down the weight that isn’t yours,
and rest
in the diamond fire
of My Heart.

Allow yourself
to be charged
by the grandeur
of My Light.

Tomorrow,
you’ll rise ready again
to start wildfires
from the Spark
within.

When I’m in tune with the living Spirit of God, nothing gets me down. Life’s struggles feel like water flowing off a duck’s back, and I have the energy to do what I have to do. Instead of seeing the rapids in the river as a threat, I see them as a jolly adventure – it’s an amazing feeling to have peace in difficult circumstances, and I believe it’s a fruit of the Spirit when we can experience life’s challenges from a space of interior peace like that.

Though I would love to be, I am NOT always in that bubble of spiritual joy and peace! Recently in prayer, I realized how stressed I had become when felt God tugging deep in my heart with a message to “stop rehearsing for the jury of this world.” In my overwhelm, I didn’t realize how many of my thoughts had turned away from prayerful trust – instead starting to be self-protective, anticipating conflict and feeling caught in a double bind between the judgement of others and my calling. It was a great reminder to do the work of maintaining a close spiritual relationship through prayer, which always leads back into that space of deep interior peace and strength to handle whatever challenges arise with integrity.

Do you ever find yourself going into people pleaser mode? Or perfectionism? Allowing yourself to (even subtly) be controlled by the judgements, criticisms, opinions or emotions of those around you? Or allowing the icky vibes from the outside to permeate your boundaries like pollution that dramatically impacts the quality of your interior space, which should be reserved for the Lord?

Lord knows I often need reminders to plug myself back into the charging station of God’s unconditional, limitless, magical, miracle-making love for me! I encourage you to do the same. After all: What is faith if we do not experience God’s living presence in our lives? If we never feel His energy sweeping out the cobwebs that tend to build up interiorly from the stress of this life, are we truly believers? (Not to discount the validity of a Dark Night of the Soul here and there, of course).

If you are feeling stressed, heavy or disconnected from the living Spirit of God in any way, I encourage you to persevere in the silence of contemplative prayer, seeking the diamond heart of Jesus like a charging station for Your soul. He is there to illuminate our interior lives with His brilliant mind and miracle healing power, always. It just takes time sometimes to let go of our own unbelief, thought patterns, dark nights and fears to experience that “living presence” described in Hebrews 3:7-16 NIV:

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “
So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”

Lord help us to seek you in the stillness of prayer and persevere until we can truly “hear Your voice” without hardening our hearts. Deep down, we all want to get to know You on an experiential level. You are the deepest desire of every human heart. Thank you for being far more than we can ever perceive, imagine or even hope for. Help us to let go of our fears, people pleasing, stress, perfectionism, and doubt in order to more fully embrace Your tangible presence in every aspect of our lives and encourage others to do the same. Mostly, we pray for the gift of FAITH and praise you for giving us the desire to pray at all. Help us to remain always in full recognition that this journey towards You can only be undertaken by Your grace, which none of us truly deserve but You generously lavish on all who ask for it. Please extend an outpouring of the gift of faith on our loved ones that we may allow more of Your Light to shine in this dark world. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

How have you experienced the “Diamond fire” of the Lord’s heart like a charging station in your own life? Comment below, and I’ll be delighted to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. And please also keep the ministry of Unite in Prayer in YOUR prayers! Thank you very much:) God bless!

-Written by Nicky Gant for Unite in Prayer 1/15/2022