But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 5:16 NLT
I'm about to write a sentence that could very well be nominated for the understatement of the year.
Life is busy. (I'm hearing a mixed chorus of Duh... Ya think? and No kidding!)
Listen, satan doesn't have to entice us into sin - all he has to do is keep us preoccupied. It's way more effective at keeping us ineffective and subtle enough to make us think we're not sinning.
Jesus - King of kings and Lord of lords - often left the crowds and all the happening events where He was the main attraction and got alone with God. He knew He needed to be uninterrupted to formulate His thoughts and prayer and He had to be able to hear the still, small voice of God. How could He have done what the Father instructed Him to do if He couldn't hear the Father?
How often I've heard, Oh, I don't watch the TV, I just have it on in the background - for noise... Can you hear Him over the teaser for the latest episode of Blue Bloods? How about over the commercials for the latest drugs and their many possible side effects?
When was the last time we sat STILL for 15 minutes - no phone, no music, no TV in the background, no computer screen glaring, waiting for us to return to it... sat STILL before the Lord with the express intention of praying without interruption or just waiting to hear His direction? Just askin'...
Prayer:
Father,
Shine Your Light of Truth on the time thieves in our lives. Help us to understand the great value of being still to know who You are. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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