This is one of those between-series devs. This one is from the "Reality Bytes" series I did a few years ago and this one came up for me - so this is a three-fingers-pointing-back EmmDev. Much love, Theo
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Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans12:12
Reality bites us and we think that we are too busy to pray.
If we want to avoid running out of steam, the reality byte we need to download is this: "Be faithful in prayer."
I have an over-busy mind and always seem to be over-run with things that must be done. When it comes to maintaining spiritual fervour through prayer, I am still learning.
Here are some quotes from people who have mastered the truths that I am still learning:
Martin Luther said: "I have so much to do today that I _need_ to spend the first hour in prayer."
Someone else said: "Seven days without prayer makes one weak!"
What about this one? "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go." -- Abraham Lincoln
"One can believe intellectually in the efficacy of prayer and never do any praying." --Catherine Marshall
"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?"-- Corrie Ten Boom
Fredrik Wisloff said: "You may pray for an hour and still not pray. You may meet God for a moment and then be in touch with Him all day."
And this awesome one: "Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan" --John Bunyan
What I'm learning is to stop making excuses about being busy, about not knowing how to pray and just not quite managing to make time to pray, and I am simply grabbing moments to connect deeply and intimately with God.
And whenever I do, it's like taking a huge breath of fresh oxygen and realising that I've been holding my breath and that I actually _want_ to breathe more often.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
