Song of Solomon 5:6: “I opened for my beloved, / But my beloved had turned away and was gone. / My heart leaped up when he spoke. / I sought him, but I could not find him; / I called him, but he gave me no answer.”

July 22nd, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In this verse, the bridegroom knocked at the door, but the bride was slow in answering. When she finally opened the door, the bridegroom had already given up and moved on. She called out for him, but he’d gone too far away to hear her voice. In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable about how the Kingdom of Heaven is like 10 maidens who took their lamps and went out to wait for the bridegroom. We remember that 5 were wise enough to take extra oil, but the other 5 were foolish and didn’t prepare by taking extra oil. The foolish maidens ran out of oil and had to go off looking for more. And that turned out to be the very moment the bridegroom appeared, and so they missed him. Jesus gave this illustration as a warning to us, so that we will always be ready and looking for His second coming.

Some have noticed a second and even more immediate application that can be made to our quiet times of prayer and study with Jesus. There is always a need for daily quiet times, but there are also special times of prayer and reflection that Jesus calls us to without any definite pattern of schedule. He seems to desire for us to become sensitive and discern those unique times that He has scheduled for us, which we don’t know about until the moment they arrive. Will we be obedient and draw away? Is He calling you to a time of reflection, silence, or fasting for a morning? When this happens, it’s not as though He will be angry and punish us for failing to hear and respond to His calling. It is only that we will miss a great opportunity to grow and be refreshed. In both applications, we have a responsibility. The bride says, “I sought him.” Have you?

“LORD, we look for You today in all we experience. Give us hearts to hear Your voice.”