A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Pastor Scott
Have you ever begun your prayer conversation with God only to find that within a few phrases your mind has wondered off, you’ve lost your train of thought and, for the life of you, you can’t remember how you drifted away so easily? Not only had you drifted a bit off track, it was like you were a mile away from where you began. You had the of best intentions and had even set aside some time specifically to be with God and then almost without warning you somehow slipped away from your intended mission…to meet and connect with your heavenly Father. I wish I could let myself off the hook by saying, “Well, I’m only human,” but I know that’s a weak excuse.
My heart’s desire is to find a confident “sweet spot” in my prayer life. I do so want to deepen my closeness with Him. I desire to find in my times of quiet solitude a confirmation of our relationship. But, how do I do that? How do we do that?
E.M. Bounds wrote some powerful words in his book, “The Essentials of Prayer” that has captivated my thoughts about prayer.
“The entire man must pray. The whole man: life, heart, temper, mind, are in it. Each and all join in the prayer exercise.”
Think about the “whole” of you engaged in prayer. When we pray, we usually just bring our “wish list,” or cite our usual family suspects, or occasionally admit our embarrassing attitudes that were on display that day, or even express our gratitude. However, all of these things when revealed to God with only partial commitment, fall short. We are left wanting. God is left wanting.
The words of E. M. Bounds reverberate in my thoughts and I ask:
“Am I engaging my whole self in my prayer life?”
“Am I even thoughtful of bringing my entire person into the activity of prayer?”
“Am I sold out entirely when I prayer?”
E.M. Bounds also said:
“In one word, the entire man without reservation must love God. So, it takes the same entire man to do the praying which God requires of men. All the powers of man must be engaged in it.”
I desire to have that level of commitment in my prayer life, I really do, because I know that there is a profound place of connection with God when we bring our all to Him. The challenge is to see the invitation to come to God in prayer as a gracious, open access point and take that invitation to be with our heavenly father as a privilege to embrace with all we are and all we have.
Recently, as I’ve come to my times of prayer, I find myself saying; “Bring your all. Bring your whole self!”
