I have to admitspending time in prayer does not come easy for me. Over the last few years I have made great
progress in spending time in God’s Word, but when it comes to dedicated time
for prayer, I have been lax. Over the last few weeks I have really felt God
dealing with me about ‘prayer.’ With his help I have been able to spend a
greater amount of time talking to Him and doing so has made me more aware of
His presence throughout the day.
While on vacation I
read the book Red Moon Rising which is an account of a prayer movement
that started in the UK
and continues today throughout the world.
The majority of the people involved in this movement are persons in
their 20’s. Early in the book the author
writes these words:
Prayer isn’t easy. Even Jesus’
first disciples had to ask Him for help and in response He said that we should
start by calling God Father. That’s the key to prayer.
Jesus introduced a new depth of
understanding about God the Father. Before Jesus, the Bible has just forty
references to God as Father; but the New Testament has more that 260! And Jesus
wasn’t just pointing people to a distant, Freudian father figure in the sky; He
dared to call God Abba (Mark 14:36), a word used by any normal kid at the time
to express love for their Dad. The single key that explains everything Jesus
did was the intimate relationship He shared with His Father. In prayer each day, He learned to listen to
God, and then He lived His whole life simply speaking His Father’s words and
doing His works. (John 5:19) *Red Moon Rising p. 71
My dedicated time
with God each morning is a conversation with my Father. I listen to His voice as I read His Word and
I talk to Him just as though He were sitting beside me…because He is that
close. And again I will say, the more
dedicated time I spend with Him the more I sense His presence throughout
the day.
