Taking Time to Evaluate Your Personal Relationship WIth God – Part 1
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
The Psalmist David cried out, “O God, you are my God; early will I seek you” (Psalm 63:1a – NKJV). Beloved, prayer in the morning is so important because:
(1) We meet God before we meet the devil
(2) We meet God before we meet the circumstances of life
(3) We talk to God before we talk to people
(4) We fellowship with God before we fellowship with people
He deserves priority over all our activities, after all, it is He who blesses us with everything we possess, inclusive of our children and spouse. Seek Him early in the morning because He is our Bright and Morning Star. God’s empowerment in our life is dependent on our daily submission to him in our prayers and supplication. Philippians 4:6-7 makes this very clear. We receive a peace that we cannot even comprehend.
Mike Murdock, of ‘Seeds of Wisdom on the Secret Place’, mentions the fact that “Jesus often ministered to thousands, yet when He wanted to impart and create radical changes in His disciples, He pulled them aside into a place of privacy” (Mark 6:31, NKJV). He further stated that Jesus knew the rewards of solitude, emphasising that, “solitude is necessary for intimacy. Intimacy is necessary for impartation. Impartation is necessary for change”. He also underscores the need for us to remove from the voices of others, in order to distinguish God’s voice. As such, there is a need for us to withdraw from the crowds, disconnect from the demands of parasitic relationships and depart from deceptive influences.
Beloved, in order for us to be effective in our Ministry we need to be God seekers (Jeremiah 29:13) and prayer warriors, to destroy the wiles of the enemy. The Psalmist David habitually prayed seven times a day (Psalm 119:164). Daniel, the incredible statesman of wisdom, established a place of prayer (Daniel 6:10). Jesus our Lord and Saviour had a special place when He pulled aside from the multitudes (Mark14:35). We must not allow adverse situations and circumstances to overwhelm us so much that it stifles our prayer life and severs our relationship with our God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus we repent for not spending time in prayer with You. We confess that we have allowed our jobs, our studies, our families, spouses, and other matters of the heart to take priority over our relationship with You. In periods of crisis, some of us either sought the counsel of others or tried to fix the problem ourselves rather than asking for Your divine intervention. Today, we ask for Your forgiveness. Like Jesus, David and Daniel, we hereby pledge to improve our relationship with You by spending time daily in Your presence, praying, praising, and worshiping You; making our petitions known, in Jesus’s name, Amen.
Read: Psalm 119:164; Jeremiah 29:13; Philippians 4:6-7
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 90:1-10; Romans 15:14-33; I Chronicles 12:23-40; I Chronicles 13; I Chronicles 14
