Peace amidst the Hurrying Throng…

For regular readers of my Morning Sonshine posts, I may seem like a broken record. I'm always talking about prayer and our devotional life because it seems like this is the biggest problem most of us have in being consistent. That's why I talk about it again and again and again…

In earlier years I used to struggle getting burned out with life and ministry. Now, I'm busier than I ever was before, but very rarely do I feel any type of "burn out." It's because God has called me to take much more dedicated time with Him each day. This extra time on a consistent basis has made all the difference in the world to me, and I know it will to you too!! 

Truly God is what we need… not more creative methods or techniques, but MORE OF HIM!!

“In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and everyone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ (Psalm 46:10) Here alone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God. Amid the hurrying throng, and the strain of life’s intense activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance, and will reveal a divine power that will reach men’s hearts.”[i]

How we find this extra time may look different to each one of us, and sometimes it may seem impossible to schedule in with our very full calendars, but we must do our best to make it a priority. We are encouraged, “Not a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Christ, to sit down in companionship with Him,—this is our need."[ii]

[i] Desire of Ages, p. 363

[ii] Signs of the Times, July 6, 1904, par. 6-7

Taking a Day out in Nature…

While I have learned to make time with God a priority each day, I've also learned that this is not always enough. Sometimes I need even more time apart. That means sometimes I will walk around from ministry and work and just take my Bible out in nature. 

When I lived out in the Northwest, one of my favorite things to do, was go spend a quiet day along the Oregon Coast. It was sooo beautiful and peaceful! (The picture to the left is from one such day alone with God!)

We may not all have a good get-away place, but when possible, let's try to make some extra time, above and beyond our daily devotions to spend time with God. 

“Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work. These workers can never attain the highest success until they learn the secret of strength. They must give themselves time to think, to pray, to wait upon God for a renewal of physical, mental, and spiritual power. They need the uplifting influence of His Spirit. Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame and tired brain will be refreshed; the burdened heart will be lightened.”[i]

Time away from the rush is so important, because it gives us time to think and reflect. And we need this.

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[i] Education, p. 260

Come apart and Rest…

The last 2+ weeks I have been traveling…first to our July ARME Bible Camp Conference in Colorado, and now to the ASI international convention in Florida. I've been leading prayer ministry at both, as well as being involved in many other things. The coming months show now signs of slowing down as I have to complete the writing project, and then I will be returning to the General Conference for more prayer ministry!

Right now I think of Mark 6:31. Here we see a refreshing call from Jesus. “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile.” When Jesus spoke these words, we are told people were constantly coming and going, and they were so busy that they hardly even had time to eat. (Sound like our lives today?)

That’s why Christ calls us to come apart. Not just for our own selfish pleasure, but to have time to really be re-energized and re-focus our gaze on Him.

“The rest which Christ and His disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure seeking… He opened more fully to them the precious treasures of divine truth. They were vitalized by divine power, and inspired with hope and courage.

Though Jesus could work miracles, and had empowered His disciples to work miracles, He directed His worn servants to go apart into the country and rest. When He said that the harvest was great, and the laborers were few, He did not urge upon His disciples the necessity of ceaseless toil, but said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38)

“Christ’s words of compassion are spoken to His workers today just as surely as they were spoken to His disciples. “Come ye yourselves apart, ... and rest awhile,” He says to those who are worn and weary. It is not wise to be always under the strain of work and excitement, even in ministering to men’s spiritual needs; for in this way personal piety is neglected, and the powers of mind and soul and body are overtaxed. Self-denial is required of the disciples of Christ, and sacrifices must be made; but care must also be exercised lest through their over zeal Satan take advantage of the weakness of humanity, and the work of God be marred.”[i]

Zeal for God’s work is good! But if our zeal for accomplishment leads us ahead of our personal zeal to know the Lord more fully, soon both will die, and we will be left as dry bone in the desert with no life and power.

So no matter how busy we are, let's make sure we keep taking the time to come apart and rest in His presence. This is our only strength and safety! 

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[i] Passage taken from Desire of Ages, p. 361-362

What if the Holy Spirit was removed??

Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Have you ever wondered what God might do if we waited to work until we received HIS POWER?? Have you ever wondered how much work we do today WITHOUT His power??

Carl Bates, one-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention, once made a sobering statement that that should concern us greatly today.

“If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of our midst today, about ninety-five percent of what we are doing in our churches would go on, and we would not know the difference. Yet if God had taken the Holy Spirit out of the midst of the first Christian community, about ninety-five percent of what they were doing would have ceased immediately.”[i]

This is a problem! But do we even recognize it? Speaking to conference workers and Pastors, Ellen White asked, “Brethren, how long are you going to continue to labor without receiving the unction from on high?”[ii]

In another place she writes, “Could we see all the activity of human instrumentality, as it appears before God, we would see that only the work accomplished by much prayer, which is sanctified by the merit of Christ, will stand the test of the judgment. When the grand review shall take place, then shall ye return and discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.”[iii]

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be without His power in this great work! I'm sure it is the same for you. Let's not move forward until we know that HE is going with us! 

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[i] Cited by David Watson, I Believe in the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 166.

[ii] Review and Herald, June 4, 1889, par. 5

[iii] Christian Service, p. 263

#8 - Keep God with us as we go through our day!

#8: Keep God with you as you go throughout your day.

Even after our morning devotions are over, that doesn’t mean we check God off our to-do list and march off into our day. He is to go with us, to stay with us, and to abide with us. Like Enoch, we too will walk with God. If trials or problems arise, and we are in need of wisdom, we pray. We are encouraged; “We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.”[i]

Ellen White, when addressing ministers and church leaders spoke strongly: “None need feel that they are too busy to pray, too full of business cares to spend an occasional fifteen minutes to seek counsel from God. My brethren, make God your entire dependence [as you go through your day]. When you do otherwise, then it is time for a halt to be called. Stop right where you are, and change the order of things.”[ii]

We may have good intentions (most of us do), but the lack of good intentions to carry over to good discipleship is usually due to the lack of intentionality. So let’s learn to be intentional! Having a close deep relationship with God will not develop by accident or random stop-ins. We must take time for intentional cultivation.

Again, Ellen White challenges us: “Heaven with its attractions is before you, an eternal weight of glory, which you may lose or gain. Which shall it be? Your life and your character will testify the choice you have made. I feel the more anxious because I see so many indifferent upon the subjects of infinite importance. They are always busy here and there about matters of minor importance, and the one great subject is put out of their thoughts. They have no time to pray, no time to watch, no time to search the Scriptures. They are altogether too busy to make the necessary preparation for the future life. They cannot devote time to perfect Christian characters and in diligence to secure a title to heaven.”[iii]

We may be busy, but let us not be too busy to pray and spend time in God’s Word. Our life and eternal destiny depend upon it. God’s not asking for much, but if we are going to dare to ask for more, He’s asking for more too!

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[i] Prayer, p. 10

[ii] 19 Manuscript Release, p. 258

[iii] Our High Calling, p 44

#7 - Treat God with Respect, as the King He is!

So often, I think we forget WHO God really is! That's we are so careless when we spend time with Him. And that's also what has led me to include the following point, as we seek to make time with God our priority each day!

#7: Treat God with Respect, as the King He really is!

Inspiration tells us, “If we would offer up acceptable prayer, we should realize that in our petitioning we are in the audience chamber of the Most High.”[i] In another place it says, “We should come before Him with holy awe. The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker.”[ii]

A few years back, my friend Pastor Ratsara, president of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, had the privilege of spending a whole day with the Zulu King in South Africa. Many people desire an audience with the Zulu King as he’s very powerful and has much influence, but few get it. However, God opened the door He and a couple teammates from the Division to spend some time together with the Zulu King and as a result, they became good friends. Later, when the King's daughter was married, he was invited to the wedding. He also later had the privilege of baptizing the King's son into the church.

As they spent this first day together, you can imagine how much he respected the king's time. As he told me, "I wasn’t interrupting our conversation to take a phone call or to answer a text message someone had sent me. I wasn’t running off to do this task or that. I stayed in his presence and just enjoyed the day, talking and getting acquainted."

As a result, this experience has made me do a lot of thinking. If this is the kind of respect we give earthly dignitaries, why isn’t this the kind of respect we give our Lord and King of the Universe when we meet with Him?

There’s the story told about John Wesley, who had been invited to spend an evening with Lord Byron, the most powerful man in England. This was a great honor, as people would wait months and months to get an audience with this man. However, before the evening was over, John Wesley got up and began to excuse himself saying that he needed to leave. Lord Byron was almost offended. "Why are you leaving when the night is still young” he asked. “Don't you realize that I am a very important man and many people beg to spend time with me at my table?"

John Wesley's simple reply was this: "I don't mean to offend you Sir, and feel very honored for this time together. But I have an appointment with the King of the Universe now, and I dare not be tired and I dare not be late."

Talk about a real life example of keeping your priorities straight. You might be thinking, “Yeah, but it seems there could have been a little exception there, don’t you think? After all, Wesley was with an important dignitary, God would surely understand. You could always spend time with God later.”

Yes…of course, God understands. He understands that we are weak, frail, and in desperate need of a continual connection with Him – a connection that will be stronger than any earthly ties and that will be more important than any earthly honor. He is, after all, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Our one desire and allegiance should be to Him, for Him, and for more of Him.

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[i] Review and Herald, May 28, 1895, p. 2

[ii] Prayer, p. 292

#6 - Make a Plan and Be Consistent (Part II)

Bible Study Time

After taking time to significant time for prayer (in fact, the majority of my devotional time is spent in prayer), I will begin my study time. I will either focus on studying out a specific Bible topic or story, or I will follow a daily Bible reading plan, such as we’ve been doing with the Revived by His Word initiative.[i] As I study the Bible, I’m constantly asking myself, “How can I apply this to my life today? What is God trying to teach me through this passage today?”

Besides the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, I also sometimes read other devotionals, but I think it’s very important we not let contemporary devotionals, powerful as they may be, take time away from actual time in God’s Word. Nothing can replace God’s Word!

Inspiration tells us, “The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as though we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe would we open God’s Word, and with what earnestness would we search its precepts! The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded as an audience with the Infinite One.”[ii]

Furthermore, we are told, “There is nothing more calculated to strengthen the intellect than the study of the Scriptures. No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God’s Word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose rarely seen in these times.”[iii]

I've just recently written a Bible study handbook with another church leader which will be published and shared on a large scale this fall. [Note: This booklet Revived by God's Word: Mini-Handbook for Bible Study is now available online for download at: www.revivalandreformation.org or write me and we'll send you a copy at: revivethemission@gmail.com]

Again, the key point is not that you must follow a certain plan or method every day, but that you take time each day consistently, and that during this time, you give priority to prayer and Bible study, being open to however God leads you. 

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[i] To learn more and join thousands of others reading through the Bible, visit: www.revivedbyhisword.org

[ii] Testimonies, Vol. 6, 393

[iii] Steps to Christ, p. 90

#6 - Make a Plan and be consistent! (Part I)

#6: Make a plan and be consistent!

While we need to always be open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, I think it’s important to have a tentative plan each day of how you are going to spend your time with God. That way you don’t get distracted trying to figure out what to read or study when you wake up. Of course, as long as you are taking time for daily prayer and Bible study, I don’t think there is a wrong or right way of having your devotions. But for those that need some pointers, let me share how I typically have devotions.

Prayer Time

I like to begin with my prayer time as it gets me in the attitude of worship and surrender before I begin more in depth study or reading of God’s Word.

I usually start my prayer by taking time in adoration and worship, not only through praying the Psalms, but through singing praise songs and worship songs to God. Since I live alone and don’t have roommates, I can do this without distracting anyone. When traveling, I will sing and pray while I drive or walk. While I know that my attempts to worship God fall so short of what the angels do, making dedicated time for worship during my morning devotions has brought me so much closer to God.

Next, before I give God my requests, I take time to confess my known sins as I don’t want anything between me and Him to block my prayers. 

I often pray with my Bible open before me, so I can claim the promises as I pray. I also take time going through specific prayer requests, which I’ve written down on little flash cards and placed on a key ring. (This way, I can carry them easily with me wherever I go throughout my day, whether shopping or walking, and I don’t forget anything.) On one side of the card is my request, and on the other side of the card is a Bible verse to support the request. When the prayer is answered, I take the card off the ring and put it in a jar on my shelf. It’s fun and encouraging to see the jar fill up as God answers prayers. (I also journal and put prayer request in notebooks. Both methods are great at helping you remember!)

I think we do need to guard against getting stuck in our box just praying our own prayers when God may have something He wants to lay on our hearts. Because of this, I’m always asking God who and what He wants me to pray for each day. As a result, He lays many different people and things on my heart. So my prayer time is not so structured that I can’t break away. I have a plan, but God often takes me out of my box and out of my agenda and gives me a different plan. And I’ve been learning to embrace that joyfully.

Tomorrow I'll talk about my Bible study time…

#5 - Don't get Distracted!

#5: When you get up, don’t get distracted!

I believe this is one of the biggest keys in starting off your devotional time right. Don’t get distracted!

It is so important when you first get up that you refrain from checking your e-mails, text messages, Facebook account, or any other electronic communication data that you are involved with. Avoid turning on the radio, television or any distracting noise that would pull your attention from God.

In the modern world we have so much electronic stimulation at our finger tips constantly just begging for our immediate attention: whether it’s thru computers, iPods, smart phones, CD players, radios, gamming devices, and countless other gadgets, that it can be hard to focus spiritually. But somehow, with God’s help, rather than all these devices becoming our master, we need to learn to master them.

If the many electronic and social networking distractions in your life have thrown things out of control, to really get a grip and turn things around, it might be necessary for a time to fast from certain media or electronic activities. It might be good to deactivate your Facebook account for a time, and set strict standards for your e-mail and Internet usage. For those of us that work full time in ministry, most of our communication is done online. So it’s not feasible to shut this down. However, we must make boundaries even over this that safeguard our time with God.

I realize this isn’t feasible for everyone, but since I have a land line, when I’m home, I always turn my cell phone on “airplane mode” when I go to sleep at night, so I wont be tempted to start texting family or friends when I first wake up in the morning. I want my first conversation and communication of the day to be with God. I don’t turn it back on until I’ve finished my devotions and am ready to start my day.

When I’m traveling, this is different of course, as I want my loved ones to be able to reach me if there’s an emergency. However, I still seek to avoid entering into non-emergent conversations or replying to text messages until I’ve had that sacred time with God. Making this practical daily priority has made a huge difference on the quality of our time together, because God knows He comes first and He’s the most important Person in my life.

If possible, I think it’s also important to minimize your interaction with friends or family until you’ve met with God. Of course, for the mothers or fathers reading this, it’s obvious that you can’t turn children off…so if you have young children, the goal should be to wake up before they do. But if you don’t, you may need to work out a plan with your spouse so that you take turns getting your undistracted quiet time with God, or make opportunities when the little ones are napping or playing to have this time. It may not be perfect, but God will reward your efforts and make you even more effective and efficient with the remaining time you have. Just do the best you can with where you are.

Also, if you find your prayer and study time being distracted by your large to-do list or by random thoughts that pop into your mind, instead of feeling guilty about these things, just take a second and jot them down on a separate sheet of paper so you can remember them after your quiet time is over. Then turn your attention back to your time with God. And you don’t have to be stressed about trying to “not forget” until after you are finished.

If you take this undistracted time for God each day, He will reward you…above and beyond your greatest expectations!!

#4 - Learn to Get up Early…

#4: Develop the habit of getting up early

You may not be an "early bird" naturally, however I know many people who have allowed God to change their sleeping habits as they sought for a closer walk with Him. Remember, the manna from heaven falls early and it also melts early too. So if we don't want to miss out, we need to allow God to teach us to wake up early!

“The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in [sleep or in] other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be the last place the remainder of the day.”[i]

Robert McCheyne struggled with making early prayer a habit, but he felt the difference when it was lacking. Listen to his thoughts: I think most of us can relate.

“I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a solitary place. David says: “Early will I seek thee”; “Thou shalt early hear my voice.” Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then when in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune, I feel it is far better to begin with God—to see his face first, to get my soul near him before it is near another.”

Some of you may work night hours and so you start your day at a different time then the rest of the world. That’s fine. The point is, whenever your day starts, make it a priority to get up extra early to have that sacred undistracted time with God before you begin your daily (or nightly) duties. And if you don’t think you can get up…well, just ask God to wake you up. He’ll do it if you give Him permission.

For years I have been able to wake up without an alarm clock. I just ask God to wake me up to pray and He always does. Countless times when I’ve told Him, “Please wake me up at such-and-such time to spend time with you,” He will consistently wake me up at least 1 or two minutes before the requested time. It has warmed my heart to see how eager God is to spend time with me. He is so eager, more eager than I even, and He doesn’t want to waste a second of our time together. 

“Prayer is not time wasted—Every morning take time to begin your work with prayer. Do not think this wasted time; it is time that will live through eternal ages. By this means success and spiritual victory will be brought in. The machinery will respond to the touch of the Master’s hand. God’s blessing is certainly worth asking for, and the work cannot be done aright unless the beginning is right. The hands of every worker must be strengthened, his heart must be purified, before the Lord can use him effectively.”[ii]

John Bunyan, author of Pilgrims Progress, once stated, “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.” May this not be our testimony!

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[i] Quote by E.M. Bounds

[ii] Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 194

#3 - Go to bed so you can get up!!

#3: Develop the Habit of going to bed at a reasonable hour.

I won't go into the health ramifications of why it’s important to get one’s sleep or the fact that Ellen White once said that the sleep we get before midnight is twice as beneficial as what we get after midnight.[i]

However, unless we plan ahead, even the night before, it will be very difficult to get up and spend time with God the next morning because we are simply too tired from staying up late. Of course, there are exceptions that will keep us up late (like taking care of sick children, or meeting a ministry deadline), but these should be the exception and not the rule.

We must look at it this way: When we choose to do our own thing late into the night, we’ve already made the choice to put God in the backseat the next day. If our prayer lives are going to change, this pattern has to change. We have to be intentional about saying “no” to some things at night so we can say “yes” to the Lord in the morning.

It's easy to forget about God when you are involved in some project, working on the Internet, or goofing off with friends. But if we want a close walk with God, we will start learning to be intentional and not haphazard in our walk with God. God has taught me, it pays to prepare the night before. 

My brother Daniel is a real role model in this. He knows he needs his sleep. But even more, he knows he needs his time with God. So he's pretty careful about making sure he gets to bed on time so that he can get up early to spend with God. I believe this is how we all should be! 

God wants to bless us, and He's looking for those faithful few that will make Him their priority…not just in the morning, but the night before as well!

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[i] 7 Manuscript Release, p. 224 “Sleep is worth far more before than after midnight. Two hours’ good sleep before twelve o’clock is worth more than four hours after twelve o’clock.”

#2 - Find a Solitary Place…

#2: Find your own sacred solitary place to meet with God.

In Mark 1:35 we are told, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he [Christ] went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” In another place we are told, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matt. 6:5,6)

If possible, it’s helpful to have your own personal solitary place [or closet] where you meet with God each day. It might be a favorite chair by your fireplace, or it might be outside under the stars. It might also be literally in a closet where prying eyes don’t see.

Of course, there’s nothing magic about a place. After all, God is not confined within walls or space. He goes with us wherever we go. The point is, if you have a designated appointment spot, it’s easier to focus than if you have no plan and are moving randomly about. Having a place that’s special between you and God, that is clean and uncluttered, and peaceful (as much as possible), will help you remain distracted, so you can make the most of your time with Him.

When I’m home, my favorite place is my bed where I can look out the window and see the stars or watch the morning sunrise. I also love to go outside and spend time with God in nature. However, since the I spend so much traveling, my location is constantly changing. And in that case, I just make the best with what I have wherever I am. But making sure I have solitary time alone with Him each day, no matter where I am, is what gives me strength to move forward each day!

At our last ARME Bible Camp, a group of us girls were all staying together in this cabin. I put blankets and sheets around my bunk bed and made myself a little secret hide-away. Everyone thought it was cute, but it was my little haven, in the midst of chaos to get alone with God. So learning to be creative and intentional goes a long way for preserving this sacred time, wherever I go.  

#1 - First Things First

If God is truly going to be free to work powerfully in our lives. Something has to change, and that something is our priorities. So let’s take some time to talk practically about how to intentionally re-arrange our priorities so we can have undistracted time with Him each day.

#1: Making first things first

One time, a professor was seeking to teach the principle of “organization of priorities” to her class. So she pulled out a large glass jar that was filled with fist-sized rocks. She then asked her class if the jar was full. “Yes,” they all responded. Then she brought out a pail of pea-size chunks of gravel and shook them into the jar down around the larger rocks. “Is the jar full now?” she asked again. “Probably not,” they responded. They were getting wiser. Then she brought out a container of sand and poured it into the jar. It filled all the cracks around the small and large rocks. “What about now?” she asked. “No!” they responded with certainty. “It’s still not full.” She smiled. “You are right,” she said as she brought out a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar. The water soaked down thru the sand and around the rocks. She stepped back with a smile. “So what am I trying to teach you through this object lesson?” One student piped up, “You’re telling us that no matter how busy we are we can always squeeze a bit more into our schedule.” Everyone laughed. But she shook her head… “No! What I am telling you is learn to put the big rocks in the jar first, and then fit everything else around them! You have to set your priorities in life consciously, otherwise the details of life…the sand, the grave (etc) will swallow up your time.”

And so it is with our lives as well – spiritually, physically, financially, emotionally, we need to learn to prioritize and put the big rocks in the jar first.

God should always take first place. If we don’t have time for God, if we don’t have time for Bible study and prayer, we need to let go of some of the other time-consumers in our life. God is calling us to know Him, to know His face, before we go and serve Him. We cannot give what we do not have. Nothing is so important that it’s worth holding on to at the risk of losing our own soul.

After your allegiance with God and priority to Him in devotion and prayer, your family should be next on the priority list. If you are married, your devotion, interest and loyalty should be to your spouse. Next, it falls to your children. Putting God and family first doesn’t mean you neglect your work or your responsibilities or the calling that God has for you, but you keep them the priority and the core of your life. If you aren’t first a missionary in your own home, you will make a poor one to other fields. If you don’t know how to love and honor your own wife or respect your own husband, you cannot adequately respect and love God’s people. (In fact, this principle of honor is a condition upon which our own prayers will be answered or ignored.) It’s so important. We must be faithful in our own homes if we are to be faithful in the Lord’s vineyard.

Next, you prioritize the responsibilities of your work and ministry and your other relationships. Each one has their place. But when you run out of space, you must decide…what is most important to hold on to and what must you learn to let go. Even Moses had to learn to let go of responsibilities and delegate! Remember, it is the devil’s goal to so fill our lives and engross our minds that we will have no room for God, no room for the working of the Holy Spirit within our lives. He doesn’t mind if our lives are consumed in ministry or service to God (like Martha) as long as we don’t have time to sit at Jesus feet. He doesn’t mind even if we are out teaching and preaching and doing the Lord’s work, just as long as we do not have time to know the Lord of the work.

Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that serving God is the equivalent to knowing God. But it is not! Serving God will always be a result of knowing God, but we can still carry on the form of service without the personal relationship. And this we must avoid at all costs.

John Wesley once stated, “I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” 

As we learn to put our time with God first (even if we skip sleep and meals or other things), we will discover that everything else in our life will begin to work! Instead of taking all day to accomplish a project, it will take just a few hours because we are running on supernatural strength and wisdom. Instead of feeling anxious and stressed, although many things demand our attention, we will have perfect peace because God’s in control. While it doesn’t always make sense by human standards, whenever we give to God, He always gives back so much more.

Prayer Saves Time…

There's a reason we are told in Ephesians 6:10, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand…" For Satan is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Only by divine protection can we stand!

“Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the scriptures will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.”[i]

And we wonder why we struggle so much through our days, why we fall so easily prey to temptations, and why we are anxious and stressed? It’s because we haven’t taken Christ with us through our day! 

Inspiration tells us, “Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.”[ii]

Times may not change, and our lives may not get easier, but something must change; that something is our priorities. Charles Spurgeon, a famous revivalist known for his success in ministry due to prayer stated, “Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time.” Oswald Chambers states, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”[iii]

R.A. Torrey, speaker and writer on prayer says, “We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results.”

Ellen White, encouraging the church to pray, says the same. “The only reason for our lack of power with God is to be found in ourselves. If the inner life of many who profess the truth were presented before them, they would not claim to be Christians. They are not growing in grace. A hurried prayer is offered now and then, but there is no real communion with God.”[iv]

Even if we need to cut out some things from our busy schedules and life, let us make time to spend with God in prayer. Prayer is the breath of our soul. If we skimp or if we skip this, we will die spiritually!

The next few posts, I'm going to share a few portions from my/our upcoming book on how to practically make time with God every day. Some of these thoughts I may have shared before, none the less, being reminded is always good. I pray you are blessed!

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[i] Great Controversy, p. 519

[ii] Great Controversy, p. 599

[iii] Quote by Oswald Chambers

[iv] Prayer, p. 263

Never too Busy to Pray…

Martin Luther once wrote, "If I fail to spend at least 2 hours in prayer, the devil gets the victory through the day!" Wow!!

As I've shared before, I have found that when I ask God to wake me up when He wants to talk to me, He will wake me up all odd hours and times of the night. If I argue with Him (which I have done), and tell Him, “This is too early. I can’t get up now! I need my sleep.” I will either struggle going back to sleep, or if I do, I will find myself exhausted the next day, even though I got my extra sleep. I’ve had this happen over and over, and I’ve finally realized it pays to obey Him and get up when He calls. Yes, it’s seems backwards to what you would expect, but God is in the business of doing things opposite to our rational thinking it seems. And when I take this extra time in prayer, again and again I’ve found that God will supply amazing renewed strength the next day. 

So if He calls you, like He did little Samuel, instead of turning over and ignoring the voice and going back to sleep, say, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.” And you’ll be amazed at what He might have to say.

Speaking of prayer warriors, I don’t think we have any better example than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, it wasn’t any easier for Jesus to get away and pray than it is for us today. We are told, “No other life was ever so crowded with labor and responsibility as was that of Jesus; yet how often He was found in prayer! How constant was His communion with God! Again and again in the history of His earthly life are found records such as these: “Rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” “Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:15, 16; 6:12)[i]

We may be busy, very busy, but that is no excuse to miss the daily quality time with God. We are not busier than Jesus, and we never will be. Sometimes even His relatives thought He had lost His mind. They said, “He doesn’t even have time to eat. We must get Him away from the crowds or He will die.” But it was often these busiest times that Christ took to spend nights in prayer, and He came back to His work renewed and invigorated. We have so much to learn from His example.

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[i] Desire of Ages, p. 362

Much TIME in prayer is the secret to spiritual success!!

E.M. Bounds, well known for his inspirational life of prayer and for practicing what he preached made prayer a priority in his life from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. for many years. It was stated of Bounds, “As breathing is a physical reality to us, so prayer was a reality to him.” 

He was the author of numerous books on prayer that have blessed and impacted thousands. He writes the following:

“The men who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character, and have most powerfully affected the world for him, have been men who spent so much time with God as to make it a notable feature of their lives.  Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. Mr. Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer.  He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: "He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining." John Fletcher stained the walls of his room by the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night; always, frequently, and with great earnestness. His whole life was a life of prayer.  "I would not rise from my seat," he said, "without lifting my heart to God." 

Adoniram Judson, during the early 1800’s, spent forty years of his life as a missionary to the Buddhist of Burma. He translated the Bible into Burmese and founded a number of churches throughout Burma. His success he too attributed to prayer…much prayer. His encouragement to others was, “Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises, but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work of prayer. Let the hour of the opening dawn find thee at the same work again…Make all practical sacrifices to maintain this time of prayer. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.”

“Unreasonable, impossible, fanatical,” you might say? Yet Dr. Judson impressed an Empire for Christ and made an imprint in Burma that will be seen only in eternity. 

Let's pray that God would give us an increased burden for prayer today! For just as He had a purpose for E.M. Bounds, John Wesley, Adoniram Judson, and others, He has a purpose for us as well. But to discover this, we need to be much on our knees in prayer!

[Added Note: By the way, our second program on United Prayer just aired on HOPE Television this last week. I don't remember if I've shared before, but you can watch it online at this link.]

The Danger of Success…

One of my favorite verses which I remind myself of often says, "Not by might or by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts." Zech. 4:6

It's so important, no matter how successful or busy we get to remember that only through God's strength is His work accomplished.

"As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a savior of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good." Desire of Ages, p. 362

Let's us always remember the following:

“Divine grace is needed at the beginning, divine grace at every step of advance, and divine grace alone can complete the work. There is no place for us to rest in a careless attitude. We must never forget the warnings of Christ, “Watch unto prayer,” “Watch, ... and pray always.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 507

Jacob prevailed…

"I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Gen 32:26

"Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His experience testifies to the power of importunate prayer. It is now that we are to learn this lesson of prevailing prayer, of unyielding faith. The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power." Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 203

The amazing part of this story is that as a result of this "wrestling in prayer," not only did Jacob get the blessing that he was seeking, but he got so much more. He got a new name "Israel" which means, "For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Gen. 32:28) 

Just imagine if we could wrestle with God and prevail? The good news is that we can! This blessing is not just for Jacob, but for each one of us!