quiet - Discipleship Network Forum - The Reimagine Network

"And pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." ~Ephesians 6:18, NIV

I have always loved to pray. From the time I was a small child I believed that there was a God who could hear me. I talked to Him, read Bible stories about Him, and eventually gave my life to Him. For someone living with partial deafness, it was nice to know that God was one of the few people I could always hear.

Like all introverts, I prefer deeper relationships with a few people rather than surface relationships with many. So my praying tended to also be "deep," in the sense that I focused best on God when I had extended times of uninterrupted quiet and stillness. I didn't know that there were "varieties" of prayers that could be offered, or other "kinds" of prayers as Ephesians 6 describes above.

For a while, even as a single young adult, this was not a problem. Of course, I worked during the day and had other commitments to attend to, but I cultivated a deep relationship with God in my "off" hours. Sundays especially were devoted to Him: church was followed by hours of blissful peace in my quiet apartment, doing what I now laughingly call "swooning with Jesus!"

Then I fell in love and got married.

- Keep Reading Here! http://www.hisinscriptions.com/blog/kitchen-sink-prayers#sthash.8rwzOrAM.dpuf

“Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” (President Theodore Roosevelt)

Private quiet time with God in rarefied spiritual heights is enjoyable. In fact, His company may be so sweet we consider constructing a shrine to revisit now and then; we may even feel we’d like to permanently move to our mountainside retreat. To escape the world’s polluted atmosphere and breathe pure oxygen, to be reenergized by invigorating heavenly elevation—what could possibly be any better? Reveling in friendship with God, we may wish we could just stay on Transfiguration Mount.

But being a hermit does not fit into our job description. We need frequent mountain climbing, to pray in solitude and keep our relationship with God on course. We also need to come down to earth to care for people. God is Love and He wants us to be loving. Preparation for ministry happens on peaks, but practical application occurs on everyday plains and depressed ravines.

We need to pray alone, and we also need to relate meaningfully. We need to ascend to commune with our Lord, then descend to serve others. It’s wonderful to enjoy tranquil interludes, so we can be strong in noisy chaos. But we should be careful not to become so heavenly minded we’re of no earthly good. When our head is in the clouds, God help us not to forget the crowds.

Though Jesus reveled in glory, when He sensed humanity’s plight He stooped to help. The King of kings descended the majestic mountain, assuming a servant’s role to compassionately care for a world in desperate need—now it’s our turn.

“Then Moses turned and went down the mountain.” (Exodus 32:15 NLT)

Johnny R. Almond

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

[This devotion based on Day 54 of Gentle Whispers]

http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

quiet (2)

Kitchen Sink Prayers

Down-to-earth Living

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