Have you ever tried to mix corn starch with water? I hope that y'all have at least seen it before because it is actually really cool. Here is a short video from Mythbusters for those of y'all who have no idea what I'm talking about.
Long story short, when you mix corn starch with water in the right proportions, the product behaves as both a solid and a liquid. When it is struck, it behaves as a solid, otherwise it will run like a liquid. This is seen beautifully in the Mythbusters video where Adam can run across the solution with no problem. He can even stand on it as long as he keeps his feet moving. You can see where at certain points, he doesn't move quick enough and sinks a bit, and later when he stops moving altogether, he is engulfed by the solution.
My point is this. This simple solution accurately resembles our lives and our walk with God in such a profound way. We must be continually pursuing and moving toward God because as soon as we begin to slow down, we will sink with the best of them. If we stop pursuing Him altogether, we will be engulfed by the world. It reminds me of when Jesus called Peter out onto the water and for a moment, Peter actually walked on the water, but even he soon began to focus on the chaos of the sea and the world around him rather than the almighty savior before him.
Let us continually focus on and run toward our Almighty Savior, JESUS!
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding." ~Psalm 119:32
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Is Praying Without Ceasing Possible?
"Pray without ceasing." If you're like me, this seems more like an ideal than a command. You might have read about Jesus praying all night. That seems impossible. Heck, I wonder how people can even pray for a couple hours at a time, or even a single hour. Praying for a mere 15 minutes used to be tough for me.
So often we hear that we just need to talk to God like He is our friend. How in the world are we supposed to do that??? What does that even mean when we're sitting alone in a room trying to talk to God?? If you're like me, then when people say that, it frustrates you more than it helps you. He isn't physically in the room with you like a friend would be. He doesn't respond like a friend would. The idea that you are just talking to a friend sounds great in theory, but in practice, thinking that, at least at the start, can be more harmful than helpful. It gives you false expectations, and when it isn't as easy and natural as talking to a friend right away, often times doubts begin to circulate whether God is listening and whether prayer is even worthwhile. With that said, I don't think prayer should be as tough as we think. It isn't something just for the super holy. It is for all of us, and I do believe we can all learn to pray for hours on end given the right mindset.
The fact of the matter is that most things in life aren't immediately obvious and easy. For us to excel, we must practice through repetition. Nobody has ever become great at anything without practice. We think of speaking to our friends as being one of the most natural things, but the reality of the situation is that even that was learned. We aren't born with great conversation skills, but we have practiced them for the entirety of our lives so far, thus it seems easy and natural. In a sense, we must learn to speak again when we begin to follow God. We must learn to speak to God the way we would speak to our friends. This is very different from saying we must talk to God like He is our friend. That makes it sound like it should be super easy and natural from the start and when it's not, we become discouraged. I equate it more like learning another language. It's tough at first. We can't use what the world has taught us because we are born again into the Kingdom. To learn to talk to God, we must practice. We must obediently come before God, and babel to Him like a baby to their father. You wouldn't expect a three year old child to hold an hour long conversation, and neither would you expect an infant of the kingdom to be able to hold an hour long conversation with God. The phrase being reborn is not just metaphorical. We all are or once were literally infants in the Kingdom of God. There are things that only time, practice, and good "parenting" can bring us to. Oh how much more the Father can teach us than our earthly parents!
Just as you don't learn to speak alone, you don't learn to pray alone. Praying with other people has helped me more than any other thing I can think of. Hearing their heart for prayer, hearing what they pray for, and hearing how they pray has given me a tangible example to follow. There is no better way to learn than from somebody who has already gone through the internal struggle of the seeming impossible nature of extended prayer.
I challenge you to present yourself before the LORD every day. Be obedient to Him. Throw Him a rope, and He will pull you closer. I promise you it will become more natural if you would allow Him to teach you. There is nothing that brings GOD more joy than hearing AND answering your prayers.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship." ~ Romans 12:1
So often we hear that we just need to talk to God like He is our friend. How in the world are we supposed to do that??? What does that even mean when we're sitting alone in a room trying to talk to God?? If you're like me, then when people say that, it frustrates you more than it helps you. He isn't physically in the room with you like a friend would be. He doesn't respond like a friend would. The idea that you are just talking to a friend sounds great in theory, but in practice, thinking that, at least at the start, can be more harmful than helpful. It gives you false expectations, and when it isn't as easy and natural as talking to a friend right away, often times doubts begin to circulate whether God is listening and whether prayer is even worthwhile. With that said, I don't think prayer should be as tough as we think. It isn't something just for the super holy. It is for all of us, and I do believe we can all learn to pray for hours on end given the right mindset.
The fact of the matter is that most things in life aren't immediately obvious and easy. For us to excel, we must practice through repetition. Nobody has ever become great at anything without practice. We think of speaking to our friends as being one of the most natural things, but the reality of the situation is that even that was learned. We aren't born with great conversation skills, but we have practiced them for the entirety of our lives so far, thus it seems easy and natural. In a sense, we must learn to speak again when we begin to follow God. We must learn to speak to God the way we would speak to our friends. This is very different from saying we must talk to God like He is our friend. That makes it sound like it should be super easy and natural from the start and when it's not, we become discouraged. I equate it more like learning another language. It's tough at first. We can't use what the world has taught us because we are born again into the Kingdom. To learn to talk to God, we must practice. We must obediently come before God, and babel to Him like a baby to their father. You wouldn't expect a three year old child to hold an hour long conversation, and neither would you expect an infant of the kingdom to be able to hold an hour long conversation with God. The phrase being reborn is not just metaphorical. We all are or once were literally infants in the Kingdom of God. There are things that only time, practice, and good "parenting" can bring us to. Oh how much more the Father can teach us than our earthly parents!
Just as you don't learn to speak alone, you don't learn to pray alone. Praying with other people has helped me more than any other thing I can think of. Hearing their heart for prayer, hearing what they pray for, and hearing how they pray has given me a tangible example to follow. There is no better way to learn than from somebody who has already gone through the internal struggle of the seeming impossible nature of extended prayer.
I challenge you to present yourself before the LORD every day. Be obedient to Him. Throw Him a rope, and He will pull you closer. I promise you it will become more natural if you would allow Him to teach you. There is nothing that brings GOD more joy than hearing AND answering your prayers.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship." ~ Romans 12:1
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