On Fridays we take time to fast and pray for our families back home. Normally we pray specifically for our own families and for the families of our teammates, but this Friday we decided to take the nine o’clock to nine o’clock hour and pray for the families of our entire squad.
And as I pray for my teammates families, my squadmates families, and for my own family, no matter what the prayer request-whether for healing, relationships, greater faith, change of heart, for jobs, for financial blessings, etc.-I find myself ultimately praying the same prayer: to make Jesus the center.
As I pray for restoration, renewal, and healing in marriages, God reminds me that the only way for these things to occur is to pray that You are made the center of their worlds.
As I pray for people to find jobs, I realize the way for them to find not just a job, but a job with divine purpose is to pray that they make You the center and seek your will.
As I pray, You remind me that financial blessings are nothing-money is nothing-if Jesus is not at the center.
And oh how I need this revelation for my own life.
Stepping into Romania has been a little bit like stepping back into America, where distractions abound. It is a lot easier to fast from internet when it’s not available, to live presently when there are fewer things pulling me backward and forward and away from where I am in the present moment.
While we are incredibly blessed right now, in some ways it is actually a lot harder to stay focused when we aren’t living quite as simply as we have been the previous nine months. There are more distractions when we have a house with wifi, a REAL MATTRESS to lay around in, electricity to keep every electronic device we own charged.
Gmail Facebook Skype Computer
Youtube Google Ipod
all at my fingertips.
And suddenly my Bible, my journal, quiet time all appear a lot less tempting than my netbook.
And I begin spending more time online, more time talking to friends, more time communicating with family, more time planning my future
And less time with You. Less time seeking Your will.
So as I sit praying for the families of our squad, as I put all of the distractions aside and seek You, I find that You’re still right here, speaking loud and clear, and what You are speaking is this:
Make Me the center.
He is speaking this to you, to me, to all of us. Whether you are reading this from home or abroad, a missionary, math teacher, or stay-at-home mom, the message is the same. It is always the same.
Nothing in life will feel right if He is not the center. So while I am grateful for the comforts and blessings of life in Romania and eagerly anticipating my arrival in the U.S., God is reminding me to not allow my heart and mind to be distracted from Him, from His goodness, His love, and His will. God is reminding me not to forget about him when life gets more comfortable. Whether in Africa, India, Europe, or America, one thing remains: my desperate need for the love and presence of God.
