DAY 4
Establishing a one on one time with Jesus is so much easier said than done. I remember making my New Years resolution in Bible school to read the bible every morning to start my day for 30 minutes. To be honest, I think I made it to day 3. Finding time with Jesus is often a misunderstood concept if you break it down and think about it. Here we have the creator of the universe walking with us, and we can talk to him at any time for as little or as long as we want. Let me challenge your thinking: I think one of the issues with our prayer life is we view it as an event instead of a conversation.
If you have to be on your knees in a prayer closet with your eyes closed and hands together to speak to Jesus, prayer can become a ritual or a system instead of a union with our heavenly father. Now, I’m not saying any of these methods are bad, in fact, I encourage finding the way that works best for you to speak to Jesus. However, when we limit ourselves to a room or a certain prayer system, prayer can quickly turn into a routine or an event instead of what it was designed to be.
One of my favorite examples of walking in a spirit of prayer is the life of Daniel. Daniel was constantly talking to the lord, both in his quiet time and throughout the day. Now, while it does say Daniel had a prayer room in his home, that wasn’t his only way of talking to the lord. Daniel captivated a deep relationship with God, and out of that, he spoke to the Lord constantly. Daniel captivated reverence, not ritual. Because Daniels’ heart was to truly walk with the Lord, he did. The key to realize is that Daniel intended to speak to the lord, not follow a system or check it off his list. Daniel had the right attitude and the right desire to seek the Lord, which made his prayer life one of the most powerful ever recorded.
Daniel would withdraw from the business and stresses of life and simply sit with the Lord. How often do we do this? More often than not, I find myself complaining to Jesus or giving him my wish list instead of just taking time in his presence to be with him, the same way I would with a close friend. So, in the same way our prayer time shouldn’t be ritualistic, it shouldn’t be a one-sided conversation.
I have very simple conversations with Jesus, in fact, my pastor often uses me as an illustration on how to talk to God, since I call him ‘bro’ or ‘pops’ instead of ‘oh heavily father most high above us’ or something formal. I’m not bashing the traditional way, it’s good to have a respect for God. However, a personal connection is something extremely beautiful to captivate.
Due to my busy schedule, I typically spend time with the Lord in my car, since I drive at least 1-2 hours daily. My typical prayer closet experience is worship music in my car on the highway, and I find that just works best for me. I talk with the Lord about anything and everything, and I try to take time to just sit in the quiet and listen as well (as you should in any conversation).
So my challenge for you is this: get your heart in the right place, and find the best way for you to talk to God. Make it less of a ritual, and tap into your desire to have a relationship with the father. It can be as simple or formal as you want, but when your intentions and heart are in the right place, we can begin to take our prayer life to the next level.
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