“Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me

Is there anyone at home?

Come on, now

I hear you’re feeling down

Well I can ease your pain

Get you on your feet again”

Uncomfortably Numb by Pink Floyd

I don’t know about feeling uncomfortably numb, that is not what us Christians feel but sometimes I do feel uncomfortably empty. I think you know what I mean, it is that feeling when you get up in the morning and you don’t feel the presence of the Lord or the joy of the Lord or anything at all spiritually for that matter. You don’t feel like praying or reading the Bible, you feel well…empty. And that empty feeling is disconcerting, maybe you didn’t feel that way the day before or when you went to bed, what happened overnight?

I think I know, well at least I have some ideas about it. Remember back in the old testament when God sent manna from heaven? Moses told them to gather up just enough for one day and not to try to store it up for the next day. Well of course some of the Israelites didn’t listen and they tried to to save some for the next day. The next day comes and the manna they saved was rotten, putrid. Meanwhile fresh manna lay out on the grass everywhere.

They learned their lesson real quick, you have to gather up the manna everyday and don’t try to save it. One more thing in the Bible, remember in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught to pray, “give us this day our daily bread”? And also in the book of John Jesus talked about Him being the bread that comes from heaven.

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you Moses did not  give you the bread from heaven but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Hiim, “Lord, give us this bread always.’’ And Jesus said the them, ‘I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:32-35 NKJV

Putting it all together we have a bread that comes from heaven and we have the prayer saying to ask daily for our daily bread, Jesus being that bread. So I have concluded that this feeling of being empty every morning when I get up is normal even if it makes me uncomfortable. And the answer is to go to God in prayer and ask for my Daily Bread.

I usually do this laying flat on my face. I have a prayer towel, kind of like what the Muslims do. I read once from some old saint that water fills the lowest place first so when we humble ourselves by lying flat on our faces you simply can’t get any lower than that. And I have found that it works, day after day, week after week year after year it has been working for me. I keep wondering when the bread from heaven will end but I guess it won’t, I find it hard to believe put the truth is that it is literally endless.

I know most Christians don’t have a daily prayer time alone with the Lord but I also know that there are a few that do. If you don’t I strongly suggest that you start, it is not easy but who said being a Christian is going to be easy and it is so easy to slip back into the world, the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, I have found that prayer keeps me on track. So there you have it, just some thoughts I had this morning.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make  his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Amen.