I Am With You Always // Matthew 28:20
Happy Star Wars Day! It’s May the 4th, so the play on words works as Star Wars fans say, “May the Fourth Be With You.” I was thinking about how to observe May the 4th in this space and I was reminded of a breath prayer I pray on occasion. A breath prayer is just that, a very short and simple prayer you utter in an exhale. I find myself praying to God and asking Him to be with me as I start something where I felt I needed help. One such time I was waiting in a restaurant for a meeting I knew could be stressful. I stood by the soda fountain and prayed, “Be with me.” It felt familiar, and I remembered this as a breath prayer of sorts lifted by the heroine, Rey, toward the the end of the movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Rey whispered, “Be with me,” before she went to fight the main villain, and as she did, she felt the spiritual power of other Jedi joining her and encouraging her. Though she stood alone, she felt the encouragement of the defenders of the galaxy in whose lineage she stood. That really resonated with me then just as it does today. As I prayed that, I remembered what Jesus said as He finished giving the Great Commission, “And I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus is with you. I remember that promise almost every time I pray for God to be with me. He already is! God the Father promised to never leave or forsake the Israelites during their exodus journey, and Jesus promised the same for His followers until the end of the world. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that and a simple breath prayer is a perfect way to do so.
“Be With Me“
Rest assured that He is.
If you have something stressful to face today, know He is with you. If you are going into battle, know you do not fight alone. Let the Lord’s strength infuse your weakness to give you a power that can only come from God. It’s so much more available to you than a fictitious force…this is the power to change and transform your very life as the Lord uses the lives of His followers to help Him change the world.
