Rushing Our Time with God
Luke 6:12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.
It’s been an incredibly busy time for me the last six months or so. One of those seasons in life where … well, you know what it’s like. One of those perfect storms of activity where every minute counts. Where you get to the end of the day exhausted, but your to-do list is still as long as your arm. Now, you don’t want to live like that all the time (although sadly, some people do) but we go through those purple patches sometimes.
And you know of course what the great temptation is when that happens … the great temptation is to squeeze that special time with God out of our schedule.
Every minute counts. I have this to do and that to do. And if I don’t do this thing over here, the sky is going to fall in.
You become a bit like one of those jugglers we’ve all seen on television with the dinner plates spinning on the sticks. You spend your whole time running from one plate to another and giving it a tweak, lest it should fall and smash on the ground.
So, we squeeze those precious times with God out of our schedule. Well maybe not completely, but what I’ve found myself doing is that instead of having unhurried time with God, I end up rushing through it … because I’m busy.
Have you ever rushed your time over lunch with someone? It doesn’t make for good fellowship does it? Instead of being focussed on the person you’re with, your mind is racing across all the stuff you have to do. Checking the SMSs coming in on your phone. Taking that pressing phone call and letting your friend stare into space.
And let me tell you, after a few weeks of treating God that way … you find yourself running on empty.
Jesus, without doubt, had a hectic schedule. He was constantly harangued by crowds, by religious leaders who wanted to trap Him and criticise Him. By beggars and lepers and blind people and the lame who wanted healing. And on top of that, He had to walk from place to place, and find somewhere to lay His head (I’m guessing not a comfortable bed like the one you and I sleep in each night).
So, in the middle of that, what did His prayer life look like?
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)
Hmm. Seems that Jesus always found time to pray. Unhurried time to spend with God His Father. Because He knew, that in His hectic schedule, that’s where the power came from. That’s where the wisdom came from. That’s where the guidance came from.
And two thousand years on, nothing’s changed. Nothing.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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