Blank Screen Blessings

Karen

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.

—Psalm 27:8

I pulled into the parking lot of our local fitness center with my usual grumpy attitude. You see, I hate to exercise. Oh, I love the way I feel when I’m done! But I still dread it every time.

Thankfully, the gym where I work out has f lat-screens with cable television hooked to the various treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals. Members can view them to help pass the time. That is, if they remember to bring their own earbuds. This particular day, I did not.

Sighing audibly, I stepped onto the treadmill. How was I ever going to exercise for forty-five minutes or more staring at a blank screen rather than a news channel, like I usually did? That would be sheer torture. I’d get bored. I’d see the other people smiling and enjoying their programs while I got to look at a blank, flat piece of nothingness.

Then God brought to mind an area He had been nudging me in: prayer. By prayer I don’t mean whipping out my list of jotted prayer requests and covering them all quickly before my head hits the pillow at night. I don’t mean going mentally through my family members by name with the usual “bless ’em real good, Lord” request. I mean spending honest, focused, unhurried time just conversing with God about whatever is on my mind or on His. Perhaps my oversight in bringing my earbuds was the beginning of something good.

For the better part of an hour I imagined that Jesus was on the blank screen in front of me. He had my full attention. I tried to focus my mind on Him, what He was teaching me, and what things I still needed so desperately from Him.

In my mind I conversed with Him as with a dear friend. I poured out my thoughts. I shared my concerns. I asked Him to reveal to me my wrong attitudes and actions. All the while I pictured Him patiently there, listening and caring. I knew that time spent with Him would benefit me more than an hour of catching up on what was going on in the world.

Today’s verse tells us to seek the Lord’s face. That is exactly what I felt I was doing that day.

Could you spend some time seeking the face of the Father today—even if only for ten minutes or so—by tuning out all distractions and fixing your gaze only upon Him? It will be time well spent that will help you grow closer to Jesus and deepen your walk with Him.

Dear Lord, help me seize opportunities in my day that normally would be idly spent to focus instead on You. I know You are always waiting. In Jesus’ name, amen.

How often do you spend time in prayer without any particular written list or agenda, just pouring out your thoughts and concerns to the Lord like you would a close friend? Why does this sometimes seem foreign to us?