By Phyllis Jones
Every winter in Illinois, you can view more than 3,000 bald eagles in their natural habitat. This wintering of American bald eagles is second only to Alaska. The first eagles of the season are spotted in Illinois in December. Eagles remain in Illinois until they migrate north in March, with January and February being optimal times to see them. One December my husband and I drove to the bluffs in Alton, Illinois, during their migration. We watched as they soared in flight. At times, they seemed not to be moving at all—just floating, suspended in time. How perfectly at peace they seemed, not even moving their wings in order to maintain their place in the sky.
I wondered, can a person reach that place during prayer time—soaring, perfectly suspended between Heaven and earth, totally still and at peace with themselves in the presence of God? The answer: “Absolutely!”
Soaring in prayer doesn’t take place because all is well or not well in our world. Life does not dictate the depth that can be attained in prayer. Deep communion with God comes in spite of life, as on our knees we totally surrender our lives and circumstances to God, when what we want or feel we need no longer matters. It’s then that our refreshing comes.
We are taught this in Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Another way to say “be careful for nothing” is that we should not worry. This verse might seem to be a little flippant if we interpret it that we should go through life unconcerned or detached, but rather it teaches us how to live our lives free from paralyzing fear and worry.
“In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” is not just a matter of telling God our heartbreaks and troubles and not worrying about them, but giving them to Him! Supplication means to lay them at His feet and leave them there, trusting Him to do what is best. We accept His will in our lives.
The peace we are seeking comes through this surrendering to God and it is without, or “passeth,” all understanding. Simply put, it is a God thing. We are not meant to understand how God takes our darkness and turns it into light and gives us peace; rather, we must simply trust Him. It is only then we can rest in His care and rejoice “with thanksgiving” as we soar in prayer to a place of peace and submission to Him.
The above article, “Soaring in Prayer” is written by Phyllis Jones. The article was excerpted from Reflections Magazine.
The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
