Time & Trouble

Dan.9:⁴ “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.

Daniel always starts his prayer with thanksgiving and ends with thanksgiving. A lot of people think that when services start with prayer, with thanking God, and with praise, it is a way of passing time. So, they delay and then show up at meetings when they think the “important stuff” has started. Take note that there is nothing insignificant in scripture. If men like Daniel and David devoted time to thanksgiving and praise and they did such great things for God, it is not a way of passing time. God may delegate the answers to prayer, but He personally attends to praise.

Dan.9:³ “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting…” When you have a challenge, you can either face the situation, or you can face what people are saying, or you can face your God. You will always have a choice. You cannot face God and the situation at the same time. In other words, you cannot be worrying and praying at the same time. You cannot be consumed with what people are saying and what God is saying at the same time. You need to choose one, what will it be? Daniel faced God, we too must learn to face God.

Prayer is counter cultural, meaning prayer goes against the prevailing culture of our time. Prayer goes against the prevailing norms, the things that are considered normal in our time. That is why prayer can become so difficult for some people. Prayer goes in the opposite direction of our culture, pulling apart in different directions. For instance, in our culture we are busy, but prayer takes time. Like spiritual growth, prayer takes times. If you want to grow spiritually, it cannot just be tied to a convenient time. If you want to grow spiritually you have to invest time. That is how it works. People come to me with the desire to grow spiritually. My response usually is, I can teach you how to grow spiritually but I cannot teach you how to grow spiritually quickly. At this point, most of them pause because they want “instant-spiritual-growth”.

It has to be line upon line, precept upon precept, a little here a little there. The process stretched you, you consolidate what you have learnt, then it stretches you again, then you consolidate and then the holy ghost stretches you again, then you consolidate. By the time you check, you would discover that you are no longer where you used to be. The challenge is a lot of us want “instant-spiritual-growth” by laying on of hands. I can show you the path to become spiritually solid. but it will not happen overnight and that is why you need to invest in your spiritual growth.

Prayer: Father, I thank You because all things are possible in Jesus, in Jesus Name. Amen!