I have this painting hanging in my home. I chose it because it speaks to me.

Artist C. Michael Dudash created this watercolour, and this is his description of the beautiful work of art.

“Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.”

Psalm 55:17 is the Scripture that inspired this painting. It has long been one of my favourite passages, and it is a reminder that regardless of the time of day or night when we pray and cry out to the Lord, He is there to hear and listen. I have attempted to convey a particular sense of timelessness and a place with this painting – not sure if it’s morning, noon or early evening, if she is in a sunlit room or on a porch or in the open air – if she is happy or sad, if she is giving thanks or beseeching the Lord for some great need. I personally sense a deep feeling of peace when I look at this print, a place of rest in the Lord. Whatever your interpretation, we all know that a solid prayer life is a universal necessity if we are to have a meaningful walk with the Lord. It is His chosen way for us to hear from Him, and He from us. I pray that you will be motivated to seek the Lord and find through your own prayer life, a place of rest in Him.”

Maybe you have been on your knees praying more than ever before. Does it take a crisis to bring us to our knees? Perhaps if we are truthful, our answer would be a resounding yes. Why does it take hardship, suffering, pain and fear to bring us to a place of total dependence on God? Why do we pray more fervently when we have a personal crisis? These are questions I ponder.

Michael shared that this painting gives him a sense of peace, a place of rest in the Lord. Oh, how we need that place of solitude and reflection during these days of upheaval, fear, and chaos. Perhaps it would be good to remind ourselves to be intentional people of prayer who long to know God’s heart. It is in Him that we find that peace that passes all understanding. As we pray, our hearts and minds become calm as we trust in Him. A verse that I’ve recently discovered to be of great comfort, found in Deuteronomy 33:12, says, “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him (her) all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.”

We all need time for rest, reflection and prayer. Take a break and rest between God’s strong shoulders. Take time for reading or whatever slows you down enough to pause and reflect. I have been reading short biographies of great giants of faith, and it’s astounding to learn how many world crises the generations before ours faced. I’ve read stories of Corrie Ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, John Newton, Joan of Arc, and best of all, our Lord Jesus Christ. A common theme in many of these testaments is that these great people of faith were tremendous prayer warriors.

Our lives can be touched through the arts, as mine is when I look at the painting hanging in my home.

But the greatest influence on our souls is the time we spend with our Heavenly Father in prayer. As we lean close to Jesus and to one another, may we collectively become great prayer warriors, united together, encouraging and building one another up while winning the lost for Christ.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16).

Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.