OF YOU MY HEART HAS SPOKEN

“Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves!” (Mark 6:31) Dawn I sit on a dune in the cold dark before dawn, facing east where the sun will rise, contemplating the beauty of God to the restful rhythm of ruminating camels. God is in this place to be adored, honoured and praised. And when I pray “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit” – a prayer without me in it - it seems as if all of heaven responds “Amen!” and the sands of this desert respond “Amen! Glory be!” The rising of the sun will be beautiful, awe-inspiring, but it is not the sun that I am waiting for. I wait for Jesus who comes once more from east and west, north and south. He comes anew each day to tell us of the Father’s Love. The sun is a reminder of this reality and even as we wait, He is already present in our waiting. This is the most silent, still and solitary part of the day – precious as water in this Sahara. I drink about four litres of water here each day. May I drin

“…the Lord whom you are seeking will suddenly enter His Temple and the Angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes He is coming!” (Malachai 3:1) The Lord whom you are seeking will suddenly enter His Temple. He is Himself the Temple and we are His Temple. It is we who seek Him We who are longing It is in our longing that we present ourselves before the Lord so that we are there – present and prepared for when that sudden thing happens. The healing that we seek will suddenly happen The conversion we are awaiting will unexpectedly take place The Love we are longing for will suddenly arrive. And we will, like Simeon, say, “at last!” That will be our prayer of relief and gratitude. But we have to be there in the Way and in the Place where it will happen and we have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. I’ve been seeking Jesus all my life, often finding Him, often avoiding Him. For many years I’ve had this image of Jesus and myself. I’m