Today I woke up feeling so far from God. And I knew it was my fault--I knew that it was because of thoughts that I was determined to have, sinful ones.
The last thing that I felt like doing was my morning devotional routine: Bible and devotions readings, and lots of prayer. I just didn't want to; it seemed incredibly unappealing. But I knew that I needed to. I needed to take time to draw closer to God, to let the bondage of sin fall away through close time with my Lord. So I did, and it was hard. I was distracted, my mind was all over... but, gradually, I was filled with peace, with the desire to do what was right and follow God that had been lacking before.
When I did settle down to pray (for the third time), it felt like there was a point. My prayers had meaning, and sincerity behind them. I did care. I did want to pray, want God to grant my prayers.
Today I experienced prayer as a way of throwing myself onto God, of saying, "God, I don't want to be here, doing this, but I know I need to. I know that I need You and Your presence in my life. Please change me through my prayers."
God showed me His love and power and mercy through my prayers today.
Showing posts with label Spiritual Warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual Warfare. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Is Prayer Important?
I've been thinking a lot lately about why I have trouble praying sometimes. One of the big issues I've realized that I (and, I suspect, most people) struggle with sometimes is the desire to do something palpable, something concrete and thoroughly of-this-world and physical (such as reducing how much I drive or recycling more). Praying seems so... silly, almost, and so it gets pushed down my to-do list until it just doesn't happen.
It required (and requires) a huge shift in my worldview to combat such a view. Praying is something that God calls us to do (Matthew 6:5-8, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17), so He must think it's important. I think prayer attunes us to the true reality of this life and its spiritual aspects--which are so easy to forget or ignore due to our physical existence here on earth.
Reality is spiritual. God and what happens in the spiritual world are more important than what happens here in the physical world: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). It may seem as if our physical actions are and should be the most important, but that just isn't true. We are fighting against "spiritual forces", and the only way to defeat them is through prayer and the grace of God.
It required (and requires) a huge shift in my worldview to combat such a view. Praying is something that God calls us to do (Matthew 6:5-8, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17), so He must think it's important. I think prayer attunes us to the true reality of this life and its spiritual aspects--which are so easy to forget or ignore due to our physical existence here on earth.
Reality is spiritual. God and what happens in the spiritual world are more important than what happens here in the physical world: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). It may seem as if our physical actions are and should be the most important, but that just isn't true. We are fighting against "spiritual forces", and the only way to defeat them is through prayer and the grace of God.
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