I Come to the Garden

I come to the Garden alone; while the dew is still on the roses; and the voice I hear, falling on my ear; the Son of God discloses…and He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.  And the joy we share as we tarry there; none other has ever known.   C. Austin Miles

In 2001, Houston First United Methodist Church came calling to see if Randy would be interested in coming to be their next minister.  They flew us out to look, and  our time was filled with what I call, “wining and dining.”  We met so many great folks, and it was a humbling experience.  The last night as we sat down for dinner at the country club, John said, let’s have the blessing.  Then he said, “By the way, everyone, if Randy and Diane come to be with us, you just need to know that Diane does not pray publicly!!”  Sadly, that’s true, but how’d he know that, and is that not oversharing?

There are so many folks who pray eloquently.  The fact is, I am not  eloquent with words in prayer; consequently,  I do my best praying when I am alone.  It is then that I can have a conversation with God rather than orate.  If you want to know about prayer, all you have to do is examine the life of Jesus.  It seems to me that although He prayed for others in crowds daily, when He truly had important decisions to make or when the pressures of His life increased, He went out to a mountainside, a garden or some quiet place to be alone with His Father.  The Bible says that Jesus “withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

The Garden of Gethsemane has always reminded me of how intensely Jesus prayed and how much he relied on this time alone with His Father to get him through.  Spending time alone with God is the secret to feeling His power and strength.

Jesus always knew what we as Christians are slowly learning.  When we think we don’t have time to pray is the time we need to pray the most.  We don’t mind spending months planning a vacation, a reunion, a wedding, a dinner party, etc. yet amazingly, we don’t want to spend five minutes seeking God’s guidance.  God is always open to discussing things with us, but it takes two to have a conversation.

We don’t have to pray out loud in order for God to hear, just listen for God’s voice in everything we do, and He will direct our paths.