Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20
As a family of five, there’s always an empty chair when we gather at the table for dinner. After saying grace one day, Jocelyn mentioned she imagines Jesus sitting in that seat, right next to her. I’ve imagined the same thing ever since.
There’s something powerful about visualization. The more we do it, the more real it can feel. With each passing day, Jesus becomes more tangible at our dinner table. I only wish I could make Him more tangible everywhere else.
I have been guilty of compartmentalizing my prayer time, and God. When I have quiet time to myself, I invite Him in and feel His presence. I share whatever my burdens are at the time, and I feel Him lift them all.
But when my prayer time is over, and it’s back to the grind of the day, I tend to leave Him back in my prayer space. The more chaotic my day gets, the more I forget about Him. Despite Him knocking, wanting to be invited into the chaos to help, I simply can’t hear Him over the clamoring noise of it all.
Then we gather at the table, over the meal I’ve thrown together in twenty minutes or less, bow our heads in prayer, and He’s there. It’s like that reset button, or rebooting your computer. All applications close, and peace is restored.
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.
And may our food by You be blessed.
Amen.
Questions for Reflection:
* Can I hear God knocking over the noise of my life?
* When I do, do I invite Him in?
Shifting My Perspective 
I love this one, Claire! God bless your Jocelyn, she is so perceptive for a very little girl.
And I love being reminded of the Faith and Play prayer!! xoxo
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I agree, Mom! Jocelyn tends to see God everywhere. How I long for her perspective!
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I love this too Claire! The thought of Jesus sitting at the table during dinner made me emotional. How much more thoughtful would our conversations and our actions be? Thanks for sharing.
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Ooh, really good point, Christine! I find when we do include Him, my kids are more conscious of what they’re saying and how they’re acting. Now we just need to visualize Him everywhere else in our world!
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Claire, I can almost feel the delight Jesus feels toward Jocelyn as she imagines Him sitting in that empty seat at your dinner table. And I can’t help but connect Jocelyn’s touching imagining of Jesus in the chair with one of my favorite Resurrection events, the Emmaus disciples, their hearts burning within them as they recognized Jesus at the table when He broke and shared the Bread! I’m convinced besides, that Jocelyn’s imagining brings His actual loving Presence right to your table. As for your own sharing that “back to the grind of the day” you seem to forget about Him, and “the more chaotic” your day gets, the more you forget Him, let me share two thoughts from my spiritual reading about that reality which we all experience. First, each day we eat our meals for strength and sustenance, but as we go on with our day’s activities, we are not thinking directly about the food that gives us the strength we have to perform our responsibilities … strength from good food is being supplied whether we’re thinking about it or not. The same with spiritual strength and transformation. Both go on faithfully within those who pray faithfully, whether, during those hectic moments, they think about Jesus’ presence within them or not. Secondly, one spiritual writer describes a “no man’s land” we so often find ourselves stalled in, that exists between our outer self, and our deep inner self where Christ abides. The writer suggests that as we deepen our prayer life, the “no man’s land” begins to shrink, and we’ll eventually find that we’re more and more able to remain within the spiritual waters of our real self where Christ dwells, even during those chaotic moments. Are we not blessed to realize we have a Savior Who never forgets us, Who both lovingly and faithfully draws us to Himself, day by day transforming us, even through our chaotic moments?
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Such beautiful thoughts, Jackie! I am so grateful that God abides with me even when I forget to abide with Him. And your point about food sustaining us, even after we stop thinking about it, is so poignant. And I will certainly be working towards shrinking my “no man’s land.” Thank you for blessings us with these wonderful concepts!
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