The unemployment rate here in hard to pin down but it is
estimated to be between 70 and 80 percent. That tends to give people a lot of
time on their hands. And one of the
things I’ve noticed since being back is that many of the believers here use the
extra time to go to church, praise God, and fellowship with one another. During our month here we attended at least
four church services and a house prayer meeting each week. We also had our team activities of morning prayer
and nightly feedback. Scattered in between
all the formal meetings were interactions with those we lived with, served
alongside, and passed on the streets.
In all these things God has been teaching me a lot about
prayer. About a life that is completely
consumed by and in communion with Him. I’ve
often wondered about the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5 that tells us to pray continually. The
more I progress in my journey with Christ the more expanded my view of prayer
has become. I’ve heard it said that to
pray without ceasing is simply constant communication with God. Well, sure. That makes sense. But what does
that practically look like? Is it
possible? I think prayer is more than
just one certain action. It’s more about
a lifestyle. It’s more about being
available, listening, resting, questioning, seeking, worshiping, and
responding. It’s about removing things
that break or distract our communication with God.
So I’ve started asking myself, “What’s the biggest
distraction for me?” My initial thoughts
were of the common things that can suck up my time and energy…television,
internet, pursuit of money, relationships, etc. And while I saw how these things could be a distraction, the reality of
it was that they weren’t the root of the problem. So what’s at the core? What is the biggest distraction for me? Well….it’s myself. Let me explain.
Throughout the past year God has really started to show me
how selfish I am. About how consumed I
am with my desires, how I’m perceived, and how I benefit from my relationships
with others. Selfishness and prayer don’t
go together. Prayer is the act of
getting myself out of the way, listening to God, and doing what He wants. When I’m so focused on myself, I forget God
and others. When I come to God in a
selfish manner, I reduce prayer to little more than a religious action that
contains no heart. Prayer is a lifestyle
of sacrifice. A lifestyle that is humble
and seeks to do God’s will above our own. He must become greater; I must become less.
