Every January, my church does a series called "Awake." We start the year with prayer and fasting, and we take a look at our spiritual lives and how they are in relationship to other things in our lives. So, as a part of that, we looked at a list of questions to help guide us in the process. On the checklist, there were
questions like "Do you enjoy having 'fun' with friends more than you enjoy spending time with God?" "Do you spend more time on your personal appearance than your spiritual appearance?" "Do you sometimes pray/read your Bible out of obligation, rather than delight?"
These were really tough questions for me to read. My spiritual life has grown cold. While I have gotten better in my devotions and prayer time, it is still nowhere near the level I want to be. I do still do my devotions out of obligation sometimes, and I don't want it to be that way. I've been making efforts to pray multiple times a day. I don't want prayer to be a last response, but the first thought. And I need help!
After reading those questions, I was pretty upset. I realized how far I am from where I want to be. So I immediately started asking myself, how do I correct this? I had no idea. Fortunately, that was talked about.
There were two reasons, but the one that stuck out to me more was just spending time with Him. That seems like it would be forcing it, but when the pastor explained it, it actually made a lot of sense. When you haven't spent time with a friend or family member in a while, what do you do to strengthen that bond again? You spend time with them. You talk to them. And that's what I need to be doing. I want to be closer to God, closer than I ever have been before. And that starts now!
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.…" -Matthew 7:7
These were really tough questions for me to read. My spiritual life has grown cold. While I have gotten better in my devotions and prayer time, it is still nowhere near the level I want to be. I do still do my devotions out of obligation sometimes, and I don't want it to be that way. I've been making efforts to pray multiple times a day. I don't want prayer to be a last response, but the first thought. And I need help!
After reading those questions, I was pretty upset. I realized how far I am from where I want to be. So I immediately started asking myself, how do I correct this? I had no idea. Fortunately, that was talked about.
There were two reasons, but the one that stuck out to me more was just spending time with Him. That seems like it would be forcing it, but when the pastor explained it, it actually made a lot of sense. When you haven't spent time with a friend or family member in a while, what do you do to strengthen that bond again? You spend time with them. You talk to them. And that's what I need to be doing. I want to be closer to God, closer than I ever have been before. And that starts now!
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.…" -Matthew 7:7