Saturday, January 7, 2011

Don’t Neglect Time With God

pray continually, (NIV) 

Never stop praying. (NLT) 

pray without ceasing, (NKJV)

-- 1 Thessalonians 5:17

What’s your excuse? Do you pray without ceasing? Do you pray every day? Do you just go through the motions, day after day, or do you really cry out to God? Do you enjoy spending time with Him? Or do you just not bother?

I am forever amazed at the people who don’t appreciate what we’ve been given. We get to actually talk to God, our Creator. That is just so amazing. How could we not take advantage of this wonderful opportunity?

Charles Stanley gave four excuses people use for neglecting prayer. The first isn’t surprising. We’re busy people. I understand that. But we don’t have to hide from God when we’re stressed out and exhausted. He knows. We can go to Him for strength and peace. He does so much for each and every one of us. He deserves our time, even if it’s only five minutes of an exhausting day.

Of course, some people don’t pray because they’re not the least interested in knowing God. They don’t care who He is or what He’s done for them. They don’t want to draw closer, to know His character, to hear His voice. Nope. They just aren’t interested. How sad is that?

Others used to pray but they don’t anymore. God disappointed them when He didn’t answer their prayers in their time and in their way. We humans are like that sometimes. We want an answer and we want it now and we want what we want. We don’t see the bigger picture. We don’t even care about the bigger picture. And we certainly don’t expect the Creator of the Universe to keep us waiting. So we just don’t pray anymore.

The last group means to pray but they just don’t get around to it. See, life is going really good right now. They don’t need God. They’re handling things pretty well on their own. Everybody’s healthy. The job and finances are fine. No problems anywhere. Funny thing about that. The minute something goes wrong, they’ll find time to pray.

Maybe you’re one of the fortunate people who realize how important time with God really is. Maybe that’s the most important conversation of your day. It should be for all of us. Don’t let busyness or anything else get in between you and God. Make it a priority and watch the