Today's post is related to yesterday's, about prayer being a (the?) critical time for the alive person to recharge. Things happen when we pray. Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God's name would be hallowed and that His kingdom would come, to ask Him to meet their daily needs, to seek His forgiveness (and be reminded of our need to forgive others), and for protection from temptation. The Luke account of what is commonly called The Lord's Prayer is simpler than what you may say in weekly worship, but no less meaty. Jesus prayed and taught His dead-but-now-alive people to pray in a way that says Hey God, so I'm totally dependent on you here, regardless of how I act or how independent I might think I am. Your name is the only one worthy of glory and You're the only one who can meet my needs, forgive my sins, and preserve me until I spend eternity with you.
The simplicity of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples reminds me of Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
And now we come to the point of today's post:
When we keep quiet space in our prayer time,
there's time to hear God's voice and receive His direction.
I firmly believe that one reason we Christians are still walking around like dead people is because we are not listening. We are too busy, too tuned into ourselves and not to the airwaves of heaven, too afraid of what might happen if we let go. Yet, when we start listening, we will finally hear God's voice and the directions He has for us. Some will be expected, even if they're not easy: forgive that dude that offended you or be kinder to your spouse today. Then there will be things that give you pause: get involved with this group that scares you a little, start something new whose outcome you can't control, reach out to that impossible person. God will invite you to live on the edge with Him. The excitement that is lacking - you know, that feeling of being involved in something greater and taking risks to see growth and what God can do, yeah, that excitement - will come with God giving you mission, vision, and purpose within His plans to have His kingdom come "on Earth as it is in Heaven."
One final thought. This prayer can be a dedicated time set aside. That is the perfect place to start. Prayer is also a posture of the mind, one that always has an ear for the Spirit's voice at all times. Pair that with a posture of the heart that is always ready to respond in faith, and you'll be living alive on the edge with God. There's no space for death when Life is at work!
The Lord longs for us to live alive in Him, because He made us alive to be alive! Of course it seems silly to have to say it, but like we talked about earlier in this series - we are engaged in a fight, the enemy is at work trying to keep us distracted and disabled. Let's stick it to him by opening up our ears to the Way, the Truth, and the Life and responding in faith to whatever He speaks to our hearts. I know my most alive times are the ones when I have done this. Maybe the best way to begin to day is to share a story about a time you watched God do amazing things when you stepped out on the edge when He called. Remembering is a powerful thing. If you can't think of a story, then it's time to ask God what edge He might be calling you to right now.
Listen, and come to life!
Heather 💛
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