“Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” (Revelation 5:8b NLT)
God listens to and cares about the prayers of His people.
Years ago, I heard a story about a person who went to heaven. They were given a tour and shown all the wonders that heaven alone possessed. While walking with the angel who was giving the tour, the person noticed numerous warehouses. Being curious, they asked the angel what was inside. “Those hold all the treasures for which God’s people never asked.”
Prayer takes time, and time is the one thing most people don’t think they have. We tend to invest our time in a couple of ways: Doing the things we love or being with the people we love. That doesn’t count work, school, or other responsibilities that we may or may not enjoy. But we rarely prioritize talking with God and seeking His face for more than a few minutes. Oh, the treasures we forfeit that God would be pleased for us to have.
Each day has 96 15-minute segments. Every person has the same number of minutes in a 24-hour period, irrespective of who they are or what they choose to do with them. One hour is less than 5% of your day, yet to think of spending 60 minutes with God is nearly unthinkable to many professing believers.
I love having conversations with my wife. I don’t call it prayer, but it’s really, at its core, no different on many levels than having a conversation with God. How healthy do you think a marriage would be if you spent less than 5% of your time together? This isn’t about guilt, it’s about reality.
It’s taken many years, but in this season of my life there’s hardly a minute I’m not conscious of God’s presence in my life. I may not be “praying,” but I’m desiring His input into whatever I’m doing. And I’m not just referring to “spiritual” things, although when you think about it, everything we do, say, or think effects our relationship with God.
If you love someone, you desire to be with them. Even if we’re not in the same room, there’s a comfort in knowing that the person I most love in this world is close by. When my wife and I are separated I’m constantly checking my watch, almost counting the minutes until we’ll be together again. It’s as if a part of me is missing when we’re separated.
That’s how I feel about the Lord. Yes, I realize He never leaves me, but if I’m not intentional about remembering He’s with me, I can get sidetracked and try to do things on my own. It doesn’t matter if I’m working on something in the garage, doing dishes, or working in the yard, I depend on the Lord’s help to work in and through me.
Some will think that’s silly, because in their minds they do virtually everything on their own. That’s called the grace of God and ignorance. If God wasn’t extending to us His grace, we could literally do nothing. There are those who mistakenly believe they don’t need God for anything. “I can take care of myself!” they will say or think.
What if God decided to refuse to allow you to breathe His air or restricted the use of the muscles and mind He gave you as a gift? I’ve spent many hours visiting people in the hospital or other treatment facilities. For years they’ve taken God’s gift of health for granted, treating their bodies as though they’d last forever. There will come a day when God has our full attention, because all the ways He’s extended to us His grace will cease. Then we’ll be begging God to give us back what we’ve destroyed through our negligence and carelessness. One day all we’ll long for is one more minute to talk with God.
Please don’t wait until it’s too late. Make the Lord the priority He desires and deserves to be in your life. Just click the link below to discover how you can have a relationship with the only true and living God.
https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 