January 7
Gen 16:1-18:15 | PS 7:1-17 | Prov 2:1-5 | Matt 6:1-24
There are aspects to our walk with God which are essential for a healthy relationship. We need a proper prayer life, times of worship, time in God’s word, times in fellowship, etc. But there isn’t a one size fits all approach. If there are aspects of your walk which are not working, then pray to God and change it up. On vacation, besides time with my wife, I spend some very focused time with God. Among other things this includes time of worship. On my last vacation, it seemed that every time I put on my worship playlist I was asleep during the first song. Initially I wrote it off as jet lag. But again the second, then the third day it happened. I prayed to God, since my method which always worked was not now working. After some time in prayer, I was given a new direction, and “stumbled” upon an old album by Klaus, which features Kari Jobe. For the remainder of my vacation I listened to a series of their albums and my heart was praising God for the remainder of the time. Recently I spoke with a patient who has gone to the same church for forty years. She is having difficulty in her marriage. Not only was her pastor not helpful, would not really counsel her but when she told the pastor she felt the devil was wreaking havoc in their lives, to which the pastor told her “there is no such thing as the devil”. I prayed with her and advised her it was time to change churches, even if it has been forty years.
It is easy to get into a rut. How many people recite the “Lord’s Prayer”, as written in Matthew 6:9-13. By rote and memorization, without even the slightest thought as to meaning behind the words, day after day, church service after church service it is repeated. Notice, in Matthew 6:9, Jesus didn’t say “recite” these words. Rather He said pray like this, giving us a model for prayer, an outline of things one should consider including in their personal prayer. In fact He specifically speaks against this in the preceding verses, as we read in 6:6-8, “ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!“. In fact, we see the same recurring phrase for prayer used in Matthew 6:6, also in 6:3 in terms of giving and 6:18 referring to fasting.
In every human relationship we need to keep it fresh. Communication is essential, and if things are not working it defies logic to keep doing the same things thinking it will have different results. Though the basic tools of communicating with God is in prayer, reading His word, fellowship, service, discipleship, etc., if you find your walk stale, then change things up. Change that worship music. Read a different portion of Scripture. Get off of your script in prayer. Join a new ministry and serve Him in a new area. If you haven’t shared your faith in a while, share with someone new today. We are all called to disciple others, which is different than simply sharing. If you are not discipling someone at this time, pray about it and then initiate. God is never boring. God is never rote or routine. If we find our walk routine or rote and without enthusiasm, this is because of us, not Him. Our walk with God is the most exciting, the most fulfilling, the most satisfying walk you will ever have, but like every other relationship we must approach Him in freshness daily.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: