Travel the Globe; Prayer and Psalm 139

Psalm 139 has a great prayer thought for travellers:

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

God is everywhere I go - anywhere.  Our family headed to China for one year of teaching and study - God was there with us.  We were anxious about the trip with (at the time) three young children but God was there with us every step of the way.

My wife and I were in Taiwan, and Belize and the Philippines and everywhere we have traveled we could either be cognizant of His presence or we could forget about it.

I'm reading through the book, The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg.  Its about being the person that God specifically designed you to be.  Anyway, there is a quote from a book concerning prayer and God's presence everywhere:  "Anytime I sin, I must remove any thought of the presence of god from my conscious awareness.  Then when I pray, I have to put Him back in my mind's focus.  the goal of prayer is not toe get good at praying, as many people think.  The goal of prayer is not to try to set new records for how much time we spend praying.  The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God (italics not mine)."

Prayer gets to be more real when we realize the Psalm 139 truth that God is always around even if we have traveled great distances from home or even if our mind has strayed great thoughts away from "home" - from Him.  Jesus is always with the "real me."

Lord Jesus, test my thoughts and let me see that any anxious thought, any temptation thought, any angry twist someone's nose thought does not surprise you because you are always there with me.  Let me know that I can be honest with you no matter where I am in my journey of faith.  Amen, Sweet Jesus!

Be safe, People of God.

Al