Earthquakes and Assurance

On April 18th, 2008 at 5:39 a.m. an earthquake shook the ground at our home in Greenfield, Indiana. I was on my knees in prayer at the side of our bed when I heard the closet doors rattling. I heard the things on our dresser and night stands rattling as if something was shaking the floor. Startled, I looked up and searched the darkness of the room, expecting to see our dog scratching herself vigorously as she often does. But almost instantly I realized that it was an earthquake.
I had awoken earlier that morning and was too restless to go back to sleep. I got up, made the coffee, ate a piece of toast and came back to our bedroom. Then I did something that I don’t do very often, but regularly do when I am troubled or anxious about some event or circumstance in my life. I got down on my knees at my bedside and began to pray.
In the days and weeks before that morning I had become acutely aware that my prayers, especially my bedside prayers, always began with the words “Lord Jesus, I”. And then I began crying out to God about my trials and failings as a husband and father. Or pouring out my heart about the difficulties facing me at work, or about my disappointment and anxiety about our finances. And I know that God wants to hear about my struggles and fears and heartache. I absolutely believe and trust that he cares for me and wants to hear my voice, but my prayers were always about me and my feelings and my needs. I determined to begin my prayers by focusing my heart and mind on Jesus. Every time I began my prayer with the words “Lord Jesus, I”, I would stop and restart by praying “Lord Jesus, You”, and then devote some time praising him for who he is. And I know that he knows who he is, but I take comfort in remembering his love and sacrifice for each of us and his promises to all who call on his name. His blessings and provision and calling are such a marvelous reality!
And on that particular morning as I knelt in prayer, restless and burdened with some object of guilt or grief or pain I began with the words “Lord Jesus, You” and even as I began my prayer of praise and adoration, I paused a moment in my mind and thanked God for turning my heart to him and the glory of his personality and character. And as I focused on him and what precious little I know about him my problems and pain shrunk away.
Before I finished my prayer that morning I arose to embrace the day with the blessed assurance that the God who shakes the earth is the same God who calls me to my knees.