A bit of a flashback comes to mind this morning. I’m thinking it was 1983 or ’86 . . . and I’m in California for work, attending a conference . . . Anaheim California, in fact . . . home of Disneyland. Now, I had been to Disneyland when I was seven years old and my memories of “the happiest place on earth” were magnificent. It’s funny how I still have recollection of the awe and wonder I experienced as a kid in that place. And so, though I had very limited time, one evening after the conference was done for the day, I showed up at the gates of Disneyland . . . bought a “sunset pass” . . . and had around three hours to revisit the sites that had captured my imagination as kid. And . . . bottom line . . . I was kind of disappointed.

It was off season . . . no lines . . . so I was able to literally run from one venue to the next . . . get in . . . get out . . . get on . . . get off . . . and move on to the next “exhibit of wonder.” But what I found was relatively “little wonder.” None of the rides seemed as “big” as when I had been there the first time . . . many of the exhibits seemed “less real and more fake” than how I recalled them from my youth. And as I think about it, some it was the fact that I had grown up and was now viewing things with “adult eyes”, but I also think a big part of losing the awe factor was how rushed I was . . . the fact that I didn’t take time to enter into the experience . . . no effort made to put on my “kid glasses” because I needed to get through the list before things closed.

So . . . what’s this got to do with my morning Bible reading and meditation? I’m reminded this morning how often I use the approach I took visiting Disneyland 25+ years ago and apply it to visiting God. King Hezekiah was that reminder . . .

In Isaiah 37 I read of how Hezekiah comes to God in prayer after being threatened by the forces of Assyria. A messenger has been sent to Hezekiah saying, “Give up now . . . we’re going to take your city and destroy it if you don’t. You know the Assyrian’s track record . . . no nation has been able to withstand us. Don’t fool yourself into relying upon your God . . . we have defeated all gods.” And just to make it official the threats are documented and delivered to King Hezekiah. And Hezekiah takes the letter, goes up to the house of the Lord, spreads the letter before the Lord, and prays. But before getting to the petition . . . instead of taking a panicked 911 approach to supplication . . . instead of rushing in and dumping before God His desperate need, the king takes a moment to enter with a prepared heart . . .

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” (Isaiah 37:16)

Hezekiah takes a bit of time to remind himself of the One whose presence He is entering. He pauses a moment to create some heavenly context for his earthly situation. Rather than flying in and flying out, He enters thoughtfully . . . establishing the awe factor . . . getting his head, and heart, freshly attuned to the holiness . . . majesty . . . power . . . and sovereign authority of the God of his prayers. And I can’t help but think how often I casually and hurriedly seek to enter the presence of God . . . deposit a few prayers . . . try and take in a bit of glory . . . and then rush out and on to the next thing.

Doesn’t it make sense, when seeking to enter the presence of God to first prepare the holy ground a bit? To first remind myself that I am entering a holy place of communion through the indwelling Spirit of God . . . to take a moment to recall that my God is God and God alone . . . to pause to reflect on the privilege of entering within the veil . . . and to consider the magnificence of His being . . . to enter into the wonder of being able to boldly approach His throne of grace. And it’s not about how much time I take to prepare the place of prayer, as it is about a “heart thing” that desires to quiet itself before His throne . . . to remember again the nature of the One I approach . . . to not take for granted my privilege . . . to not take for granted His grace and glory . . . to know again that greater is He that is in me than anything that is in this world . . . to not try to take an “express lane” approach to communion and yet still expect the awe and wonder and freshness of when I first believed.

Lord, forgive me for those times of entering Your presence carelessly, without little thought of Your wonderful character . . . for entering casually, because I am so rushed with other “more important” things to do . . . for entering complacently, taking for granted the access I have to You through the blood of Christ and work of the Spirit. Help me to slow down . . . and enter afresh into the real “happiest place on earth” . . . for my blessing . . . for You glory . . . amen.