Monday, June 25, 2012

Adding God to My Calendar

   I write this with a million things running through my mind - "What do I need to pick up on the way home today? What do I need to accomplish at work today? Where did I leave that paper that I need? What bills are due soon?".....etc...  It's SO hard to stop. What happens if I do? In my mind, my whole world falls apart. That's what. I have to be honest. That's how I feel sometimes. We all like to say how much we trust God, and how much we are working on trusting Him more every single day (which I'm not saying isn't true); however, we all have to admit that there are times when we get too busy, too focused on our wants, too wrapped up in what we begin to think is OUR lives. This is the great fallacy of our minds. By our very acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, we relinquish control of our lives to God. We agree in that moment, and all the moments thereafter, that God will be our guiding lighthouse into the shore, our driving force behind our actions, and our whole lives. But we're human. Is that an excuse? No. It's fact. Like the fixed time of prayer or David (Psalm 55:16-17), the set prayer times of Daniel (Daniel 6:10), or Peter and John and the Early Christians (Acts 3:1) we also need OUR time of prayer. But it's like we need God to break us to our knees, or we need someone to shake us and tell us that our soul will shrivel up and die without this life giving, relationship building, most powerful time with our Father in heaven. Peter Kreeft said, "Praying is more important than eating because your soul is more important than your body." When we focus on the things of this world and what we think is our own lives, we push out God's voice, and strain our relationship with Him.  I am saddened today, because I realize I have done this. I haven't written a post for this blog since last year. I'm not saying that having a blog is necessary for a relationship with God, but this blog has provoked more study and research of God's word, and given me more clarity and release of thought than anything else in my life ever has.  My prayer time increases and my study time increases when I am searching for answers throughout my daily life, and when I journal them in my notebook I keep for prayer and thoughts as well as transferring them here, for all to see.  This transparency is what I feel led to do, and it builds on my relationship with my Creator.
     I think of it as one of the old school communication devices, a string and two cans.  When the string is stretched tight, the vibrations are carried across it between the person at one end to the person at the other, and communication is possible.  Well God has held his can in the same place the whole time, yet the line is slack. Who moved? Me. My communication with God has suffered because I let the link get slack. The only think that prevents me from praying is more me.  It's my own inflated sense of self-importance, the elevation of my work, of my agenda, that keeps me from prayer and communication with God.  You know what Scripture calls that? Idol worship. I don't pray enough because I'm practicing idol worship. Romans 1:25 says, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." That "creature" became me, myself, and I.  The extent of prayer in one's life is a direct function of whether something else has been set up as more important than God.  In this action, we operate separate from God. Not because He has left us, but because we have left Him.  We consider it "too much to go up to Jerusalem" (1Kings 12:28-30).  Instead we create our own "golden calves" and worship them until we realize how far we are from God.  What is saddest of all is that we then wonder why...   The easiest way to find time for God is to weave Him into every facet of your life. Consider His counsel in every decision, no matter how small. Have a constant conversation with Him every day (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Make your prayer time His time, not yours. When all else fails, add God to your calendar






God Bless.