http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:36-44&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011:5-10&version=NIV
A couple years ago Beth & I were having major issues with our cell phones. Our batteries were dying. They would no longer hold a charge. If either of us were on a call of any length, our phone would die. It got to the point where if I was going to be on the phone for more than a minute or two I needed to have my phone plugged into the charger. Between the two of us we didn’t have one usable phone. We continued like this for 3 or 4 months. Until we were eligible for an upgrade. A very welcome upgrade.
When we went to the store to select new phones we talked to the sales rep about our problem. Unfortunately we had unknowingly been contributing to our own demise. Let me explain. Neither Beth or I use our phone all that much. 90% of our calls are to each other or to our children. Yet each night we faithfully plugged in our respective phones to charge. Even though we might still have 4 bars showing. The result was that the constant recharging of our batteries caused us to lose their full range. So, after a while, we were only capable of using a small fraction of our batteries. Hence the problem.
What the rep recommended that we do with our new phones was to periodically charge them. Only when they needed it. When we only had 1 bar left. This meant that we might recharge our phones only once a week or so. Here we are almost 2 years later and our phones are still doing pretty good. It seems like they needed less frequent, longer charges. As opposed to more frequent, shorter charges. I hope you are following along.
One night I was reflecting on this and how it relates to prayer. It seems like most of us, myself included, are pretty good with the short, frequent prayers. A quick prayer during our devotional time, grace at meals, a prayer or two throughout the day. But that’s it. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this but the question arises, Is this enough? Are small, periodic prayers enough to keep us spiritually healthy? You already know the answer. No. What we also need are longer times of prayer. A half-hour. An hour. Maybe more. These are times when our spirit can really get in touch with God. Times when we can get lost in worship. Overcome with thanksgiving. Grapple with issues in our lives. No, we might not be able to carve these times of longer prayer out of our lives on a daily basis. But we need to find some time, somewhere for them. It’s the only way we can go deeper in our relationship with God. Where He really does become our all in all.
Lord, in the busyness of my schedule, I realize my need for You. Help me to make a commitment to periodically praying for an extended time. So that I can know Your heart. Hear Your voice. Feel Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
When we went to the store to select new phones we talked to the sales rep about our problem. Unfortunately we had unknowingly been contributing to our own demise. Let me explain. Neither Beth or I use our phone all that much. 90% of our calls are to each other or to our children. Yet each night we faithfully plugged in our respective phones to charge. Even though we might still have 4 bars showing. The result was that the constant recharging of our batteries caused us to lose their full range. So, after a while, we were only capable of using a small fraction of our batteries. Hence the problem.
What the rep recommended that we do with our new phones was to periodically charge them. Only when they needed it. When we only had 1 bar left. This meant that we might recharge our phones only once a week or so. Here we are almost 2 years later and our phones are still doing pretty good. It seems like they needed less frequent, longer charges. As opposed to more frequent, shorter charges. I hope you are following along.
One night I was reflecting on this and how it relates to prayer. It seems like most of us, myself included, are pretty good with the short, frequent prayers. A quick prayer during our devotional time, grace at meals, a prayer or two throughout the day. But that’s it. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this but the question arises, Is this enough? Are small, periodic prayers enough to keep us spiritually healthy? You already know the answer. No. What we also need are longer times of prayer. A half-hour. An hour. Maybe more. These are times when our spirit can really get in touch with God. Times when we can get lost in worship. Overcome with thanksgiving. Grapple with issues in our lives. No, we might not be able to carve these times of longer prayer out of our lives on a daily basis. But we need to find some time, somewhere for them. It’s the only way we can go deeper in our relationship with God. Where He really does become our all in all.
Lord, in the busyness of my schedule, I realize my need for You. Help me to make a commitment to periodically praying for an extended time. So that I can know Your heart. Hear Your voice. Feel Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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