Daily Meetings with the Creator of the Universe
Jesus seemed to make solitude with the Father a priority.
One of the most important things we can do as Christians is to spend time alone with God, the creator of everything — time set aside and dedicated solely to Him. We need to clear our minds of the clutter of the day, from the worries of our lives, from the thoughts of the future, from anything but an all-pervasive sense of God. I believe scripture is intentional and instructional when it speaks of Jesus waking up before daybreak to slip away by Himself and pray. Jesus seemed to make solitude with the Father a priority. It’s how He started His ministry, how He taught His disciples, how He dealt with grief and temptation, how He escaped the crowds, how He gained knowledge and power, and how He even prepared for His death on the Cross. If Jesus set the standard, what makes us think we can get through the cares of this world without doing the same? It seems that the busier Jesus became, the more He prayed and even went without eating at times. Yet, we find that our very own lives are inundated with distractions, leaving very little time, if any, to pray. But we usually manage to find time to eat.
Become a “Little Christ”
Recently, I became aware of this in my own life and felt that if I’m truly committed to becoming more like Jesus, then it makes perfect sense to start imitating Him as well. In fact, scripture tells us explicitly to be imitators of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). It even goes so far as to say be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1) and how can you imitate someone you don’t know intimately? I have never been an early riser, but there is something very remarkable about our first hour of consciousness. Spending that time with a mission to seek His presence had to be powerful. I already sensed that God was drawing me into a new season of spending intimate time with Him. In fact, on two consecutive mornings, I was suddenly awakened at 4:25 am with a nudge to get up and meet with our Father.
Having a heart that longed to be in His presence, I spent the next couple of weeks getting up at 4:30 am. By 7:30 a.m., however, I would feel discouraged when I didn’t experience His presence during the time I set aside. I was certainly seeing things in the Word that I had never seen before, but I felt like I was talking to the ceiling and the floor. It seemed as though I was further away than ever before.
Corrected by the King
He spoke directly to my heart and humbled me to the bones.
Then one unforgettable morning, shortly before ending my prayer time, He spoke directly to my heart and humbled me to the bones. His message went something like this:
- If you had an early morning meeting with a king, would you enter his chamber with your personal cup of coffee and toast? Certainly not!
- Would you stay up late the night before, with very little sleep? Surely not!
- Would you show up exhausted, yawning, and groggy? Hopefully not!
- Would you enter his chamber saying, “Good morning, King. Well, here I am and I don’t know what to say, so if you feel like talking, I’m here to listen?” Definitely not!
- Would you make sure you had comfortable seating and a blanket, in case you get cold? Undeniably not!
- Would you let him know that your time was limited? Naturally not.
- Would you allow your thoughts to wander off to the things you see, and distractions that busy your mind? You better not!
- Would you check your phone every now and then to see if you’ve missed any notifications or texts? Unquestionably not!
- Would you excuse yourself to get a refill on another cup of coffee, just to ensure you don’t fall asleep in his presence? Indeed not!
- Would you open a book to see if something inspires you to know what to talk to him about? Of course not!
- Would you text your best friend with an amazing thought you just had? Affirmatively not!
- Would you quickly pick up a notepad and begin writing when a great Facebook status comes to your mind? Indisputably not!
How rude and disrespectful if we were to do even one of these things, especially when you are meeting with THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE!
If He was the one who invited you, you better pray He invites you back. And if you’re just showing up and believing He’ll meet with you, I suggest you better know who you are and WHO you are meeting with if you plan to meet Him again. If you wouldn’t dare do these things to the king of a nation, then why on earth would you do it to THE KING OF ALL KINGS, your Savior?
Don’t let this be your prayer life. I am guilty and I repent!
A Prayer of Humility
Father God, forgive me, for I didn’t realize what I was doing. Now I do and I will never again come before you so flippantly. I thank you for your mercy and grace and unfailing love. I ask you, in the precious name of Jesus, to teach me HOW to pray more like your Son prayed. I want to glorify you in everything I do, and I know that my prayer life needs a transformation, much like the transformation in my heart. Thank you for never giving up on me. I will continue to meet with you in the mornings, but from here on, I will have structure and order. I will plan with purpose. I will focus on Who you are and not on who I am as you build your kingdom in my heart. Thank you, God, for making me aware of this, and showing me that our time together should be sacred. I pray that others receive this as you’ve placed it on my heart. Thank you, Father.
In His mighty Name, I pray, Amen.