Come away for a while. Sink into a comfortable seat. Resist all rush and hurry. Rest your weary body. Ready yourself to receive from the Lord.
Breathe deep ~ be calm ~ find a place of stillness and peace.
God is with us ~ we are on holy ground.
Seeking the supernatural in the natural.
Experiencing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Each time we make space for God’s glorious Presence, He enlarges our appetite for it ~ a holy hunger develops.
The new year could be a time ~ of deliberate listening ~ to those Holy echoes in mind and heart ~ whispers on the wind ~ as God imparts His life to us ~ in a journey without end.
In the awareness, attention is required, a stilling of the soul, a watching and waiting, every sense attuned and alert.
I have heard prayer whispers intermittently throughout this year, and they are speaking to me more as I re-read them.
Now I sense a call, not just to ‘Come’ and approach His throne of grace but to linger, lean hard, and listen… the word He has given me for 2014.
And the first thing to heed is how God makes Himself known to us in myriad ways as the poem below describes.
‘I AM’
I AM
earthquake and volcano’s fiery outpour
waves lapping gently on the shore
wind ripping leaves straight off the trees
the soft caress of a mid-summer breeze
Grey fog and mist obscuring the view
an irredescent-coloured rainbow hue
a wake-up trumpet’s strident sound
peace and stillness in the air around
I AM
The One who has tasted salty tears
brought joy and comfort to your years
stamped upon all your enemies and foes
walked Earth with sand beneath my toes
Who felt forsaken on the cross
as I defeated sin, death and loss
cried out in nail-pierced agony
to secure your forgiveness and set you free
I AM
The Lion of Judah’s victory roar
as I keep you safe for evermore
blood and water, Spirit and Life
to heal, restore and deliver from strife
Songs of praise without an end
your beloved and closest Friend
echoes throughout human history
whispers on the wind ~ Holy mystery
©JoyLenton2013
I would be honoured if you would join me in learning how to listen better to God in 2014 as I aim to keep a prayer journal, share ‘Prayer Whispers’ and poetic inspirations here and write longer blog posts about my discoveries on Words of Joy.
May you be filled with a sense of awe and wonder and be greatly blessed in seeking and sensing His Presence in the year ahead. You can also join in with #oneword365 here.
Happy New Year to you!
Poetry Joy 
The Lord Jesus drawing close in this poem. Wonderful. And may His Body shut up for a while and listen, just as you have gently suggested. Thank you Joy!… Doug
Listening comes hard to many of us as we’re usually too busy making our voices heard instead. In a world full of sound and fury we feel like we need to speak loud and clear (and frequently) in order to be listened to. Maybe we could emulate the quiet authority of our Lord Jesus instead. He knew when to speak, when to listen and when to remain silent.
Perhaps these are things He will be teaching me through the year ahead as I lean in and listen to His still small voice.
Thank you for stopping by to read and comment. Bless you, Doug! 🙂
Loved this poem Joy. Love your tender heart and your desire to share it with the world. May 2014 be a year many experience the joy you offer through Him.
Thank you, Anne! I hope and pray it will be so. Bless you for taking time to stop by and offer me such sweet encouragement. 🙂 xx
Dear Joy, your poetry and writing never fails to remind me that I need to spend time with God. His Spirit in you speaks to mine. Thank you for being faithful to His calling and sharing your beautiful gift. Love, Debby Xx
Dear Debby, I am deeply touched by your kind and encouraging words and truly thankful if God uses my words to speak to you. Thank you so much for visiting and blessing me in this wonderful way! May you find great encouragement in continuing to share your own great gifts too in the year ahead. Blessings and love Xx
Thank you for this touching poem, Joy! Love this: Songs of praise without an end
your beloved and closest Friend echoes throughout human history. ( and in all languages).
Happy New Year!
Hi Jedidja. Thanks very much for letting me know what has blessed you, my friend! Yes, God makes Himself known to every tribe and tongue. Language is no barrier to Him. Happy New Year! Blessings in abundance. 🙂 x
Joy! You have no idea how excited I am to find your blog. I chose “listen” for 2014 also and found your page through the 365 website. I think we are the only two to have chosen “listen.” I’m a Christian as well and am delighted that you and I share a strong faith in Jesus! How cool… you in the UK, me in Minnesota 🙂 Your point about “deliberate listening” really resonated with me and your poem is positively lovely. Have a blessed day and Happy New Year!!!
Hi Katie (finally managed to find your name after getting it wrong in my comment on your blog!), it’s lovely to meet you. I’m really excited too that we have chosen the same word for 2014 ~ it felt like I might be going solo with this one! I have quite a few social media friends across the pond and it’s great to connect with you too. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. May you also have a truly blessed and Happy New Year!! 🙂 x
Thank you so much, Joy, for reading our blog post “Your Debt Has Been Paid in Full.” We hope you’ll visit us again as we continue our Sunday School series “Rebuilding the Temple.” God bless ~Ta`Mara
Thanks very much for visiting here, Tamara. I hope to be able to return to your site too. God bless 🙂
You blessed my heart so much as I stumbled on this post. I love in the “Bible belt” in Texas, and while there are a host of lost souls here – I’m pretty much surrounded by Christians. It’s tougher for you. I am praying about my one word, and think it is also going to be rest. May we both rest in our Lord together across the Atlantic. Bless you! 💛
Hi Kimberly. I’m glad you were blessed by stumbling across my blog. It’s good to meet you! This post is actually a year old and my #oneword365 for 2014 finalised itself as ‘listen’ which required lots of restful stillness. And for 2015 God has given me the word ‘rest'( by the way, you are the first to know because I have been too unwell to blog about it yet!), so it will continue to be an important part of the year ahead as I explore its richness. I’m delighted to have found a soul sister who shares the same word this year and hope you will stop by again to make yourself known. God bless you! 🙂
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