Consumed

Do not allow yourself such shallow intentions as to pray simply for happiness. Those whose lives are at supposed rest are more easily lured away from utter dependence on Christ. It is better to be wholly consumed by Christ in penitent anxiousness than to be forgetful of Him in happy carelessness. The heart that is burdened more quickly runs to be relieved at the Cross than the heart that feels no need for a Savior. Let, rather, your prayers be of a deeper sort. Come to the feet of Jesus and pray -- no, beg -- that you may know the steadfast love of Christ at all times. The apostle Paul himself found joy knowing that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Find comfort not in circumstance, but in the comforting presence of Christ through every trial and every joy. As Agur spoke, so pray: “Give me neither poverty nor riches,” but “feed me with the food that is needful for me” (Proverbs 30:8).