“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.”
Reading that quote, you might think this was written by a current author. In fact, Oswald Chambers wrote it in early 1900s, before his passing in 1917. (An interesting note – all his work was published after his death by his widow.)
I hear all the time how busy people are nowadays, but imagine if you had to make all your food from scratch, including preparing your meat from your farm stock, churning your own butter, and growing most of your vegetables. You had to wash your clothes by hand and hang them on a line. You had to hook up your horse to the buggy, and buy your linens and goods from the general store quite a distance from home. Your primary way of connecting with people was through the mail if you didn’t live in town, and even then you had to go to town to collect it.
The distractions that can occupy our time may have changed, but human nature has not!
Ever since Eve, and then Adam, chose to do things their way without talking it over with God )let alone doing what He has already told them not to do), we can see many people in the Bible continued on that path. Folk such as Abraham & Sarah, Jonah, King Saul, King David, and even Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather made decisions without first connecting with God.
Jesus showed us there was another way. A better way.
Even as a child, he spent time at the temple learning all He could about the Word. He memorized large portions of it and learned how to teach to become a Rabbi. We see that He spent time on His own in prayer, and taught people they could do the same (the Lord’s Prayer is just one example.)
I don’t want to be known for being a “fair weathered” Christian like I was when I first met Jesus. I want to run to Him first, persisting in prayer and seeking His guidance. I want to avoid the mistakes God can see I would make without Him. I want to be connected with Him, which cannot happen if I never talk with Him.
And friend, I don’t mean just my doing all of the talking. Because a relationship that only goes one way isn’t a real one.
I want to be honest and open with God, sharing my heart and hurts with Him, and hear what He wants to say to me. I want to be guided to safety in the hardest of days, to avoid the pitfalls of temptations and sin with His help. I want to wait until He says, “Yes. or “Go.” and stay when He says, “Wait.” or “No.”
So I am choosing to go to Him first from now on. Purposely taking a pause to pray, and then waiting for His prompting, His response before taking action. I want to stop reacting on impulse, and instead act with faith.
If you too can relate, may I remind you that God has given us a new life when Jesus died for us upon the cross. He put us first knowing it would cost Him everything, out of His great love for us. He made the way possible for us to come to God directly again. His Word reassures and reminds us over and over again of how much He loves us, has good plans for us, is always with us. I don’t know about you, but I want to hang out with a friend like that all the time, and because of what Jesus did for me? I can!! So can you!!
#hopefortheharddays
KARLA LEES 