Thursday, September 9, 2010

Obligated?

Last night it struck me, my prayers are stale and lack sincerity.  Have you been there?  Are you there now?  What if our friends and family spoke to us in the same manner we speak to God?  What if at best they only spoke to us three or maybe four times a day?  How would we feel?  Neglected?  Unloved?  Unappreciated? 

Why should God be any different?  How His heart must ache when we treat Him as an afterthought?  Or even worse -- as an obligation.  We think to ourselves, "Oh, time to eat, better pray."  Then we say something such as, "Dear God, thank you for this food. Amen"   Well, truth be told it may sound more along the lines of,  "DearGodthankyouforthisfoodAmen."  Said as fast as we can, after all we would not want our food to get cold.  Never mind the fact that it is our spiritual lives that have grown cold.  This is where I am at in my journey.  My spiritual life as grown cold.  I want to change and hopefully my journey through studying and meditating on prayer will be valuable to you. 

Football season is here and each Sunday and Monday night will present a "big game" to someone.  Maybe you are the person who works extra hard on Saturday in order to clear up the schedule on Sunday.  There is an air of excitement as the players take the field and you want to be there to catch that excitement.  What if, what if, we had that same excitement and enthusiasm to come into the Arena of God?  This game is big folks, it is huge.  Football games will be forgotten over time, but the effects of prayer are eternal.

Is prayer just an obligation for you?  If so, join me in making a change.  Join me in making coming before our King, our Saviour, our God, a desire and passion so deep it will change us forever.

1 comment:

Mary Sue said...

Our pastor started a series three weeks ago on prayer and how we have moved from God-focused prayers to self-focused prayers. Of course, the sermons also point us away from ourselves in our daily walks, as well. I've enjoyed the series (haven't heard a series I don't like), but it's a rough one, as I've realized just how self-centered I've become. Visit www.mytrinity.tv and click on "watch sermons online" (it can also be downloaded as a MP3). The series is called "Unself"