A Devotional Thought
by Pastor Phil
"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name."
Today we start our week of prayer using the Lord's Prayer as our guide. Our desire is to deepen and enrich our prayer life, that will deepen and enrich our lives, which will deepen and enrich our church, that will deepen and enrich our community. Are you ready?
We start where Jesus teaches us to start - Putting our focus on God with praise. It is so easy to lose that focus. Peter was walking on water! Yet still managed to lose his focus. The Israelites had just witnessed a cascade of miracles that released them from 400 years of bondage in Egypt, yet they lost their focus. Adam and Eve, lost their focus. Peter, watching Jesus on trial, lost his focus. And, we lose our focus.
So, we realign our lives towards God by beginning our prayers with praise.
When you praise God you are focusing on God. You are proclaiming who God is and by proclaiming it, you reinforce it in your mind and God reinforces it in your heart and we become less distracted by things around us.
You may have already practiced praise in Saturday's Spiritual Growth exercise, but if not, focus on characteristics of God that are meaningful to you, maybe characteristics you most need to experience today in your life. Then, pray "Lord, I praise you as (or 'for being') ______________." Praise God for several things and then continue on with the rest of your prayer time.
Continue this practice everyday and throughout your day, especially as you realize you are becoming distracted.
