One of the hardest things to do when I pray, especially Centering Prayer, is getting over myself. I wrote about Centering Prayer (also called Contemplative Prayer or Christian Meditation) in my recent post, Prayerlife Revolution: https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/prayerlife-revolution/. God showed me a handy tool, a place to put those pesky thoughts about myself that intrude when I’m trying to focus on Him. This tool is The Table.
I wrote about The Table in the likewise named post: https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-table/. But in that post I didn’t give the full history of The Table. I’ve actually seen The Table, or at least a description of it. If you follow this link and scroll to the bottom of the last page, you can see a drawing of what The Table looks like:
The Table came to my attention as a rhema word that God had given me many years ago. [A rhema word is a word from the Bible specifically for you.] At that time my son was living on his own and experiencing many difficulties including losing his job and losing his apartment. Without an apartment, he also didn’t have a phone where we could call him. After not hearing from him for a couple of months, worry plagued me so badly that I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t function.
Early one morning after another sleepless night I was having my regular Bible and prayer time. At the time I was reading through the Bible for the sixth or seventh time, so that day’s passage was one I had read before. It was in Ezekiel, where the angel is leading Ezekiel through the Temple in Heaven. The angel is measuring and explaining everything, and Ezekiel is writing it all down. Then in chapter 41 they enter the Holy of Holies where there is a wooden altar. In verse 22 the angel says to Ezekiel, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” Those words jumped off the page, and God told me: “Put him on The Table and leave him with Me.”
It sounds easy to do, but relinquishing control like that is actually pretty hard, and in those days (about 17 years ago) my faith was still in its young phase. When I finally did put him on The Table, I released him so completely to God that I literally left him there for dead.
Instantly, peace flooded my heart. Every time I started to worry again, I put him back on The Table. A few days later, he finally called, with the news that he had gotten a job and found a place to live.
The Table has become my place to put those things that plague me: worries, people I love, and all the things that are out of my control. When I have thoughts that pester me and try to draw my attention away from God, I do two things simultaneously:
- I softly sing the chorus to “I stand in Awe of You” (http://www.lyricstime.com/hillsong-i-stand-in-awe-of-you-lyrics.html), which helps get my focus back to God
- I put the distracting thought on The Table
Distracting thoughts are almost always focused on myself. Lately, I’ve gotten a few prophecies from various sources, saying the same thing: get over yourself. If you want to receive more from God, get over yourself.
I don’t just want to receive more from God, I want it ALL. The Table is full of blessings, healing, renewed relationships, guidance, provision, etc. God is in each gift that is on The Table. He is on The Table. We are invited to come take whatever we need from The Table. And The Table is also a place where we can leave those worries, people, and thoughts that trouble us—a place to get over ourselves. So for me, The Table is also where I can get over myself.
God is good!
Walking By Faith in Europe 