05/24/2019
Did you awaken this morning and immediately thank God for this day? Perhaps you thought to yourself “I am not a morning person, I will pray once I get fully awake”, or then again, maybe everything was good in your life right now, so you didn’t think of praying at all. What if you knew someone that came to you only when they needed something from you, would you be glad to see them at your door? Probably not, and yet God welcomes each of our prayers as if it were our first. He wants to fill the time between disasters with relationship.
“Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!”
Psalms 66:20 ESV
We shouldn’t wait until we are in trouble, or are challenged before we pray. Our prayers shouldn’t be an afterthought, or lifted up out of obligation. No, we should offer prayers of thanksgiving before each meal because we are truly thankful for God’s provision, and not because it is what Christians do. We should thank God for each day because it is the day that He has made, and we are blessed to be a part of it... not because this is the way we are expected to begin our day.
“But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”
Psalms 59:16 ESV
Prayer is like breath to the faithful, it is a morning kiss, or like touching our spouse before leaving the bed to our relationship with the divine,. Then throughout our day it sustains us, and becomes such a part of us that it is like breathing in and out. Is this how you approach prayer, or is it something you do because you are supposed to, you are needful, or worse than that... so that others can see you pray? Let me ask you this... do you hold your breath until you are just about to lose consciousness before you take your next one? I doubt you do that, and you should treat every prayer the same way...
“I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”
Psalms 146:2 ESV
When my wife and I rise in the morning I am always the first to leave the bedroom, but when she comes into the room I always greet her with “Good Morning Honey, did you sleep well?” Then when we have had our first cup of coffee, and dressed for the day, I tell her she looks nice. More often than not it is just another day in our lives, and I don’t need anything special, but I want to interact with her, to make small talk, because I love her, and this is part and parcel of a loving relationship. Our prayers should be prayed this way too... when it is just another day, and there is nothing pressing in our lives that we need to discuss with God, we shouldn’t neglect praying, because it is the essence of our relationship, and reestablishes our bond with Him; even in the small talk we make, or maybe I should say especially in the small talk.
“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!”
Psalms 102:1-2 ESV
It is so easy and natural to seek God when we are in trouble, or need! The Psalms are filled with cries for help, or deliverance like the one we just read, but most of our lives are spent in the routine every-days of existence. So how do we seek God in prayer in those times?
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
We read and quote this scripture so often that it is chiseled into us, but the most important part comes in the very next verse, and we rarely quote it...
“Do not quench the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 ESV
Don’t lose the relationship, don’t separate yourself from God’s Holy Spirit! Maintain your loving relationship with God in all circumstances, and times, because He desires this intimacy with us... it is His will. This is more than praying amidst the grand occurrences, the daring rescues, or as God snatches victory from the jaws of defeat... it is placing a spoonful of cereal into the mouth of a baby, walking the kids to catch the school bus, or saying “Good Morning Honey, did you sleep well?” The majority of our time is spent in the routine... just like our faith. We celebrate Christmas, Easter, and the other feasts, but the bulk of the year is spent living in common/ordinary, time... in everyday relationship with Jesus Christ, and God. These are the days that the coming of Jesus, Pentecost, or the other feasts are preparing us for. Jesus didn’t die on the cross because that was life... He died on the cross to bring us life. We were being redeemed for an everyday relationship with God. Do you pray like that, or do you only pray during the Easter’s of your life? Pray each day like you are rising from bed on a routine day, because our life is truly spent there... and the other days? Well, they are the accent marks, the extra spice, the daring rescues, the reassurances of Faith. How did you pray today?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for this day, which I am blessed to spend with you. I thank you for the myriad of tiny things which will fill my hours, and in which you will lead me as I go about each one reflecting you. Help me Lord to do the small things, and to live out our loving relationship in your peace, calm, and rest. Build up my strength in these quiet times Holy Father, and prepare me for the battles to come. Encourage my faith, and dwell within me each and every day so that our love might grow, and my dependence on you be full. Lead me beside the still waters, make me to lie down in green pastures, and restore my soul, so that when the time comes to part seas, or draw water from rocks, I will be ready, and confident in you. Let me walk in these tranquil days with Jesus so that when I find my cross has become too heavy for me, He will take my burden, and I will be confident in that too. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God for all days! Great are you in times of high adventure, fear, and hardship, but greater yet are you who gives me rest in the common/ordinary days of our life and relationship together. All glory is yours Lord, not solely for your mercy, but for your grace.
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.”
Psalms 66:16 ESV
Rich Forbes