Go to God
Sometimes it is just hard to get quiet with God. I will admit it. It is an issue completely due to our side of the relationship, but it is what it is. I finally got to thinking about this recently and thought back to my first post “Getting Personal”. I could not help but to consider a major factor that can cause a huge prayer block.
Ready for it?
COMPARISON. Oh that word again. We’ve heard it a million times. You know it’s highlighted through social media patterns and personal wants. Sometimes it is because I am wrongly focused on MY relationship with God instead of His relationship with Me. You get me? I make “me” the center of it all and get out of whack. It simply calls for a flip of perspective, a change from me-mindedness to Christ-mindedness. We often compare “our” relationship with God to another’s relationship with Him and end up totally missing the uniqueness of what the Lord offers to us! We get jealous and compare instead of watching God’s relationship with man and how he reaches all of us where we are.
For example, it is the norm for Joe Shmoe to have a 2-hour Bible study in the early morning. Jane Shmane may think “Man, I just can’t do that. I must be a lousy person. Why can’t I study like him?” She forgets the incredible surge of power she feels from the Holy Spirit as she intercedes for people. However, Joe Shmoe sees Jane Shmane having deep, powerful prayers in the middle of her day and wishes he could stop long enough to take that kind of rest with God, forgetting all that God is unveiling to him through scripture. Hopefully I am pulling my point together. We must certainly motivate each other toward better things and honor the Sabbath, but we must also embrace the uniqueness of the relationship God gives us individually.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25
God may have given you the ability to study the Word through a teacher’s eyes, the intercessory power to pray in a way that truly makes things happen, or the prophetic ability to envision the good things of above and relay hope and encouragement to a world overcome with devastation. We must quit wasting our time wishing for the gifts that belong to our peers and key into the abilities we do have. We must use these abilities as we approach the Lord to understand the element of His character that He is unveiling to us most directly. Then, when we believers come together, the true power of God is revealed to a far greater capacity!
Personally, I have never been one to have a quiet time first thing in the morning. I am not saying that is right or wrong, it just is how I have always done it. Growing up, I had devotions at night before bed. I would go to bed at a reasonable hour so that I was not too sleepy to grasp the Word and pray efficiently. It was and still is just easier for me to rest when the day is done. As life brought me through different seasons, I found new places for my moments with God. Now I utilize my daughter’s midday nap for some alone time with the Father. We just have to fight for our time with God and look for our window of time to devote to studying His Word. It may shift with our life changes but that is OK!! It is not about what time we come to God, it is just that we come to Him every chance we get. He is waiting for us.
Now before I get served a big helping of crow, I am most certainly going to admit that starting the day with the Lord results in a better heart throughout the day. While my best “studying” may be done midday or evening, beginning my days with intentional, undistributed prayer is essential. I will confess that I have missed this more mornings than I care to admit and start praying when I realize I am overwhelmed by 10:00 am. I must remember how much I need Jesus every hour, not just the ones that “feel” crazy!
Don’t miss what amazing love you can directly experience with the Father because you’re indirectly existing with Him through His relationship with others!! Be brave enough to let God create something just for you in the relationship He shares with you, then go share it with the world.