Sometime back, I wrote a post about listening and then today I read where Jummy had written about the same thing. Both of these posts started me wondering about listening and what it means exactly.
Too often, in an effort to get our point across, we fail to listen exactly to what someone is saying to us. Such is the case also with God when he is talking to us and trying to tell us something. Do you ever miss His voice and do the wrong thing?
Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution only to find that you’re breaking it before it even gets started good? Maybe it’s to lose weight, grow your business or spend more time with your kids. Maybe you need more time to yourself to do the things you need to do. Maybe it’s all of the above or maybe it’s just some things. Whatever they are, you have possibly made a resolve to resolve.
It happens to us all at one time or another. We decide to do something on the first of the year, first of the month or right away. Then, we find ourselves not doing it but not only that, we have totally abandoned the idea because we get distracted. And therein, my friend, is the key to our inability to complete. Distraction.
In our spiritual lives, distraction is the key thing that keeps us from doing what we need to do to grow our spiritual lives. Whenever you kneel to pray, do you find yourself distracted from prayer? Or do you find that your mind wanders and thinks on things OTHER than what you’re praying about? What’s that? Was someone knocking on the door…?
If you want to make sure that you’re not distracted every time you attempt to spend quality quiet time in prayer, let’s work together and try some things until we succeed. Together. Trust me. I’ve had that same problem too and it’s very disheartening.
Here goes:
Before you begin prayer, take five minutes and worry about EVERYTHING that’s on your mind. Give it your full, undivided attention to worry or thinking. This satisfies (partially) that distraction and gives it the energy it needs for, well, five minutes. After that, that’s it. You do not need to think about it anymore during prayer. It had its worrying session earlier.
Use the restroom first. Eliminate that distraction before it starts.
Get comfortable, be it on your knees, standing or sitting. You don’t want to start shifting around right when you start.
Turn off the house phone, cell phone, radio, Ipods, etc., etc. Eliminate all “white noise”.
Also, when you begin, ask God to eliminate and help you ignore any other distractions that may attempt to invade your time with Him. With diligence and perseverance, you will be able to follow through on this small but important issue of distraction.
Later this week, we will also look at other infringements on our time with God. Share with me any other things you consider to invade our quiet time.
Day in, day out, it’s the same old thing. Go to work, take the kids to practice, go home. Hum-drum. Hum-drum.
When your life is full of nothing-ness, you tend to get bored with it and may even develop a wandering eye. You know. The kind that wishes you had what someone else had or could go somewhere where someone else has been/is. When this happens to you, it’s time to count your blessings.
It’s easy to get tired of the same old thing day in and day out. Life is very routine like that, but we must be careful to not fall into the habit of monotone thinking and acting. There is so much in life to be grateful for that we must literally take time out of our busy schedules and count our blessings. Let me show you how:
When you open your eyes first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, say “thank you� for another day, eyes, ears, presence of mind and a healthy body.
If you have a spouse or kids, say another “thank you� for them being in your lives. Smile at them when you see them as you go to the washroom or start readying yourself for work or school. This small act will guarantee a smile back if not even a hug.
When you sit down at breakfast (or grab it as you’re running out the door), that’s another thank you for food to eat. A small thing to be thankful for considering that there are hungry children in Africa right now who would give anything for that Pop tart or muffin we sometimes begrudge.
As you’re driving to work, another thank you for an operating, in decent shape vehicle to get you to where you need to be. Considering that there may be someone who awoke to a stolen car today, that’s a small thank you.
Before you even get to work, you have been thankful at least 5 times before your day even gets started good. When you develop a habit of thankfulness, you ensure that your life is always in gracious mode and that you will never get bored or tired of the same old thing.
Is there a God? Are we alone in the universe? What does life mean?
It's not strange or unusual to ask these questions of yourself and of the universe, no matter what your upbringing.
Spirituality Guide isn't going to answer those questions for you. Rather, this site is a place where you can explore all these and more. This is a place to question and contribute.
And maybe find yourself along the way.
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