Waiting Room

February 20, 2012 By

By Agnes Namonye

I have come to realise over the past few years that life and Christianity sometimes feel like one big waiting room and everyone in that room is at different stages of their lives waiting for God to either do something or give them the green light to step into their next season of life.

This world has inevitably become fast paced. We tend to get everything immediately and if we have to wait for anything we get frustrated and angry. We even go to the point of watching the microwave count down hoping that that will make it go faster. As Christian’s this impatient fast paced way should not be applied to God and our walk with him. God should not be bending and adapting to the way the world works. He is not a gene and as Christians we shouldn’t be treating him like one. But God understands that there is a time for everything. Sometimes God calls us to be in that waiting room and be patient for it is not the right time for the dreams, visions, prayers and blessings we desire to be answered. God does not do this to be spiteful, to tease us or to even play games with us. But he does it because he sees the bigger picture and knows/understanding full well that there is a time for everything.

God’s word is overflowing with promises that was not just for the people in that time but those promises are for us right now in this day and age. Now the next statement maybe hard to take but if God decided to never give you the dreams and visions you desire that would be fine because he has given us the ULTIMATE gift which is JESUS! Jesus is more than enough but our God is so gracious that continues to bless us beyond what we could ask or imagine. But these blessings are not going to just flow whenever we want them to or feel like it. They are going to flow in God’s time because he sees the bigger picture and understands that timing is key.

I write this devotional sitting in the waiting room of life with so many other Christians in so many different stages of life. But the key to the waiting room is not how long you are in their for but what you do while you are in their. Some Christian do nothing in the waiting room, some get angry with God, some walk away, some give up on waiting, some get jealous of other Christians etc etc etc. But there are a few things I have learned and God has taught me in the waiting room as a Christian.

  • Lean on God
  • Stay in the Word
  • Worship
  • Stay in his presence
  • Be planted in a youth group and church
  • CONTINUE TO DO LIFE

The last is one of the biggest mistakes that Christians make, just because you are WAITING for something to come to pass doesn’t mean you stop living.

So remember is not how long your in that waiting room but what you do in it.

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional, Weekly Devotional

Someday. One day. When. If.

February 5, 2012 By

By Micaela Alcaino

“Don’t be ridiculous! How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy and [Goliath] has been in the army since he was a boy!” 1 Samuel 17:33

“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.” – A.W Tozer

You have only one month to live.

If you were told these words today, how would you live your life differently? Try to close your eyes and think about it. If you had only 4 weeks left on this earth, what would you change?

I want to talk to you about the “Someday Syndrome.” Its a syndrome easily caught, and hard to get rid of. Many of us in our life time can get caught up in the “Someday ill do that” or “Someday ill try to achieve this” or “Someday ill better my relationship with my dad” or “Someday ill better my walk with God” or the most common of all “Someday ill stop doing what I’m doing, and feel less guilty about it,”

 Ever heard yourself say one of these? or can you think of your own “someday I’ll’s” ?

 But if we all got caught up in the Someday syndrome, no one would get anything done. I love the verse in the book of Ecclesiastes where it says “If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.” -Ecc 11:4

Don’t wait for the perfect conditions because they’re never going to come! Make the conditions perfect and get started! A wise man named Alan Cohen once said “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. “

So get started! Better those broken relationships, start that hobby you’ve always wanted to start, begin to live that healthy life you’ve always dreamed, stop that sin that you’ve always said you wanted to stop.

David in the bible is the best example of living life on the edge, trusting purely on God’s provision and less on what the “safe” people around him were saying. He was a natural born leader and he didn’t wait for the perfect fighter to show up, he only knew that something had to be done. He also had faith that his God was strong enough to get him the victory. Sometimes it only starts with a few stones in your hand, and slingshot and a HUGE faith and trust in our God above.

 Are you one to push past your circumstance and trust that God will give you the outcome you only thought existed in the “Somedays?”

Ive recently finished reading an amazing book called “Love at Last Sight”. It was a 30 day devotional on how to love extravagantly in the relationships you’re in. For me it opened my eyes to the broken, distant nature of my relationship with my mum. And truth be told, I was never bothered to change our relationship, I thought it was in the “Ok” state, yet we would fight constantly and only keep it at a surface level. But one day God really convicted me that if I wasn’t willing to be the first to change it, it may never change. So one day after a HUGE screaming match, and slamming of doors, I did something I had never done, I went and forced us to sit down and talk about how we both felt about each other, after a few broken pride walls and emotional rambles we finally hugged properly [although mega awkward] for the first time in YEARS, I’m talking about before I started high school years. And every day since then, despite a few disagreements, our relationship has never been better! I love my mum and our hugs have become almost a daily thing. And the way i look at it, thats something I would have wanted to change if I knew I only had 4 weeks left to live.

God never intended us to live life in the safe lane, or the comfortable lane, God created us to live extravagantly, in our love, in our worship, in our work and in our actions. Don’t allow compromise or idleness write your legacy, instead let a life of extravagant love write it for you.

So my challenge for you today is for you to ask yourself and write down: “what are 5 things you would change if you have one month to live.” but don’t just write them down, take the hard road and start moving towards it! Just because you think you have many years left of live, don’t let that be a wall to stopping you from living life the way you’ve wanted to live NOW!

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional, Weekly Devotional

Making the most of YOU this summer!

January 30, 2012 By

Hey Everyone,

Below are some notes from a great friend of mine. He is a youth pastor and the director of the “LOVE IS OUR WEAPON’ campaign and is doing great things down in Nowra. I just felt what he had to say about the summer break was so relevant to all young people and i wanted to share it with you all.

Make sure you have a read, my heart is that we will enter 2012 full steam ahead and hearts as one. Believing that it is going to be a fruitful year.

Much Love. The Big Bear.’ – Jason Mendis

Make this summer a summer you don’t forget (with no regrets!)
I love summer. It’s a time of family, friends, fun and if were lucky, great surf. In Australia, we celebrate Christmas over summer, with temperatures soaring and lazy afternoon’s watching the cricket an Aussie right of passage.

Because it’s such a great time of rejuvenation, relaxation and celebration, it’s important to do so without letting our guards down. “Above all things guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23). Over the past 8 years of youth pastoring, every summer I see young people allow this to happen. Instead of creating a summer they wont forget, they create a summer they later regret.

Here are a few tips I’ve shared with our youth ministry when it comes to having a summer they don’t forget, and don’t regret!

Over this summer break, be young person that is:

1) Passionate about your Bible.

The Bible compass for anyone who wants to have a walk on fire for God. Whenever we read the word it’s like pouring pure life into our spirits. Read Hebrews 4:12

2) A Prayer Warrior.

Those we hang around we become like. When we pray and hang with God, we become like him. Prayer is where you will find home. Read Colossians 4:2

3) Don’t chase drama – chase God.

Our lives are not called to be like the latest episode of Home and Away. Seek God with all your heart, minimize drama, and you will find your summer a lot more joyful. Read Hebrews 12:1

4) In church.

Over summer break youth ministries can often to have a break. Be committed to being in church. This will help you stay connected with other believers and strong as you enter 2012. Read Psalm 122:1

5) A Worshipper.

It’s hard to lose focus of Jesus if your continually thanking and worshipping Him. The more you worship, the greater the sense of God’s presence in your life. Read Psalm 22:3

May 2012 be your best and most fruitful year yet!

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional, Pastors Devotional

Sheep and Wolves

January 15, 2012 By

By Joel Samways

In John 10:1-21, Jesus is talking about His people being the sheep in a paddock, and He calls himself the good shepherd.

John 10:4 – When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

When we make Jesus our shepherd, we allow Him to go ahead of us. He goes before us, He prepares our way and leads us into safe pasture. He doesn’t let us venture into a place that He knows is too dangerous for us to handle. He is with us, leading us and watching us the whole way.

Not only so, but when we put Jesus as our shepherd, we become familiar with His voice. It says ‘they follow him because they KNOW HIS VOICE’. 
In a paddock of sheep, with the shepherd in the middle, it is the sheep in the center of the paddock that are able to hear the shepherd’s voice most clearly and loudly. It is those sheep that can clearly recognize the voice and they become familiar to it. But the sheep who hang around the fenced border of the paddock only faintly hear his voice, it is harder to recognize WHO’s voice is actually being heard. 

This can be seen with any relationship, as the more time we spend with people, the easier it becomes to recognize their voice. That’s why for most of us, the voices that are most recognizable in our lives are those of our families.

If we want to become familiar with the voice of God, then we need to be sticking close to our shepherd, not dancing on the borders of our relationship with Jesus, but clinging onto him so tightly, because we know that letting go of Him is like free falling from a plane with out a parachute. 

John 10:11-13 - I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 

We need to make sure that Jesus is the one who is shepherding us, that it’s His voice we are listening to and following. It’s easy to start listening to the other people we have in our lives and we can often place their voice over the voice of Jesus. These ‘hired hands’ are the things and people that we put before God, but these things don’t really care about us, at least not in the way that God does, so when the ‘wolf’ comes, they just buckle and run away, leaving us in a broken place. Things like shallow relationships, partying, the lies our friends and family may feed us; all of these things may comfort us in the now, but when that wolf comes, whatever it is that wolf may be, those things we were following and listening to will be nowhere to be found. 

But we have a God who loves us and cares about us in a way no one else ever could. Our shepherd lays down his life for us when the wolf comes around. He sticks by outside. 

John 3:16 - For God SO loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 


So I challenge you, who have you got as your shepherd? Is your shepherd still going to be there when the going gets tough?…..

And if you do have Jesus as your shepherd, how close are you really clinging onto Him? Are you holding on to Him with everything you have, or are you a sheep who dances on the fence?….. It will show by how well you hear the voice of God.

Lets get familiar with the voice of God! 

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional

A DIFFERENT NEW YEARS RESOLUTION! -beware. patience required.

January 1, 2012 By

By Micaela Alcaino

In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to see his own people and watched them suffering under forced labour. – Exodus 2:11

So it’s coming the time where we wrap up the continuous days of feasting, and let our stomachs breathe. But in the festive season, I think we all know how annoying it is when we have to wait for that feast to finish being prepared so we can dig in. But just like the perfect dish, we need to wait patiently until it’s done. One of my favourite dishes to make is Chocolate soufflé, although I don’t like chocolate I love making this dish, because it involves everything to be made PERFECTLY. Its all about beating the eggs perfectly, getting the ingredients right, not over mixing the ingredients, heating the oven at the perfect temperature, letting the soufflé rise, but don’t take it out too early otherwise it will collapse! [I know crazy work hey?]

This new year, I urge you to make every one of your plans and purposes with God become a perfect chocolate soufflé. Get the ingredients right, and let God make it rise, but don’t try grab it out too early, let it be in Gods time otherwise the plans may collapse.

Growing up Moses saw his people suffering and was sure he was the one to save them, but his first attempt failed  because he tried to do it in his own strength and power. He didn’t rely on God to help him get the victory. Although his VISION wasn’t wrong, his TIMING was. Be careful not to jump the Gun when it comes to your dreams. God may want you to do something, be he doesn’t want you to do it in  your own strength; he wants you to do it in his.

Although you may see His work developing right in front of you, like stepping stones into the Path God has called you to, some stones have been placed for you to see yet too far to reach. So you must wait patiently for the next stone to appear to take your next step. Don’t try leap and try get there faster for every stepping stone has a God opportunity waiting for you, an opportunity to mould you, mature you, grow you into the person that is ready to take that distant stepping stone.

If I were to miss one step in the Soufflé recipe process, my plans to make the perfect dessert would fail. So I encourage you, pray for patience, and to know God’s timing. If we try to rush the plans God has for us, and miss the opportunities he has placed along the way, we may never get there.

For Moses it took an extra 40 years. Learn to obey God in the small steps, and trust he will guide you into the bigger steps. Don’t rush it, for it takes time to cook the perfect dish, to paint a masterpiece, to write an incredible book, to become an amazing singer.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11.

We are lucky to be serving a God who already knows the outcome. Trust that he knows the right timing for everything. That in all seasons, he is moulding us, teaching us and shaping us for the plans he has already prepared for us. Rest in His promises and prepare yourself not only to hear God’s voice, but also to act as soon as he says to act.

On an ending note, the bible also says “Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Psalm 37:3-5

So this new year keep close to God, tell him the desires of your heart and trust him that he will follow through with the rest!  Write a list of 10 things you believe you want to achieve this year, whether it be a personality trait or an actual event or activity or achievement and lift it up to God, coz he hears you! :)

Happy new year!

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional, Uncategorized

The Magpies in life

December 25, 2011 By

By Tanya Brown

So I just had this experience that really just clicked everything for me. I was walking down my lane just to set the scene, there are trees on both sides of the lane and in those trees are a million magpies flying around. There were so many magpies I actually considered walking back to the other lane, which would have taken way longer.

I personally hate magpies, from a past experience. When I was say 9 I saw about 5 magpies swoop my mum and like peck her head… blood was everywhere… And now every time I see a magpie fear hits me. Funny I know, as it is only a magpie, but the truth is my perception of the magpie has been changed due to that experience.

So anyways back to my story I was walking back home, and it’s going to sound really strange but I felt God say sing ‘Your Love Never Fails’ by Jesus Culture as I was walking down the lane. I must have looked like a complete idiot walking down the lane, by myself, singing, but that is the pleasure of living where I live, no one can see you. So anyways I found this new sense of strength, the fear was gone, I didn’t look at the magpies, I could hear them, but I didn’t turn my head, I kept my eyes looking onward and forward. I felt as if in a strange way that I had some force field around me haha. But you know what? The magpies didn’t attack me! So really I was just layering unnecessary stress onto myself.

Do you have any fears? Or worries? Do you let them direct where you go or what you do? Do you let them influence you, rather than delving into that security found in God, that is completely accessible for you?

I personally have a challenge to continually re-align my focus from my worries to God. I love the verse Matthew 6:33-34, ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

And this one, Psalm 94:18-19: ‘When I said “My foot is slipping,” when anxiety was great within me, your consultation brought joy to my soul.’

And there are a million more, but the truth is, we need to just cast our worries onto him, he is in control and is forever in control. He knows what is going to happen tomorrow, the next day, and for every day after. He has it sorted. I know it’s so hard to realise, but we need to live in Faith. For it is ‘through Faith we have been saved’-Ephesians 2:8. We need to not fear the world, or the many things within it.

I find it funny that God told me to sing that song, if you haven’t heard it, listen to it! I think it is the bridge that says, ‘All things work together for my good, you make, all things work together for my good.’ If that is true, why worry? Everything that you go through, every hard and tough time, God works together for your good- because he loves and cares for you his prized child.

If we spend our lives looking at the magpies, so to speak, we won’t be able to see the road ahead. It’s like when you drive – you drive to what you focus on naturally. What are you focused on? Don’t let the sound of the magpies, distract you from the plan and purpose God has for your life. And you know what? This morning I found my HSC results and I realised that all the stress and worry over them was so pointless, like whatever I got, whether terrible or good, obviously God already knew them, and obviously that wouldn’t affect what his plan for my life was. So really I looked at that magpie for no reason, so don’t cast all your worries and attention on the magpies, because it takes just as much effort to cast all of it to God, and trust me God has our back, the magpies don’t.

Filed Under: Frontliner Devotional, Uncategorized

Get ready to sing LOUDLY this Christmas…

December 18, 2011 By

By Stephanie Alcaino

Angels we have heard on high


Sweetly singing o’er the plains,


And the mountains in reply


Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Whilst this is the time where we all can attempt to sing like Mariah Carey or Justin Beiber this Christmas, we should also take some time to think why we sing these carols to begin with…

I remember a time when I was living in Oxford (UK). Mic and I one day decided to check out a castle that was in the next village up from Oxford called Woodstock. Apparently from what I had been told, this castle was one of the most beautiful places in the area. Sooo…. inevitably we managed to get a little lost and not find the majestic entrance or even know where this castle was (regardless of it’s size). We walked around the village and its cobblestone streets for about half an hour until we arrived at this massive old stone wall. We weren’t too sure was lay behind this big wall but there was only one way to find out. The moment we stepped through a small entrance … BAMMM! I remember the breath, words and all thoughts were completely knocked out of me and small tears began to form at the corner of my eyes. Before us was a huge lake with beautiful autumn coloured trees and a cobbled stone bridge kindly stood on the other side of the completely calm lake, occupied by white swans. Before our very eyes lay the most beautiful, majestic castle, with its sandstone walls, decorated doorways, pillars and gardens that went on for days. I even remember we both had to take a step back to take the entire moment in!

What moments in your life have made you stand in awe? When have you been left speechless? Was it a time were you were looking from a mountain top, or staring at one of the 7 wonders of the world or could it have been when you saw your baby brother or sister for the first time after their birth?

One of the most awe-inspiring moments in the history of mankind was the night Christ was born. Wow. When the King of kings first became man. This was the history shifting moment which allows us to stand firm in knowing that all our sins have been washed away, that we are now considered children of God and we can happily say that we have an eternity with our Lord up in heaven! There has not been an event before or after Christ’s birth that has resulted in such a celebration. I would have loved to see the faces of the shepherds and the three wise men when they encountered Christ for the first time. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry or run around or dance. It definitely would have left them speechless. I’m sure even the cows and sheep must have had a moment of awe for the baby boy that was born before them.

Leading up to this Christmas remind yourself what you felt when you had an awe-inspiring moment, and make an attempt to regain these moments with God, so we can truly celebrate Christmas the way the angels did. Don’t let your relationship with God be a boring, ordinary one. But make it one that you can wake up each day rejoicing and being in such awe of the wonders and beauty of our creator and all he has done for us!

Question time!

  • 1. Describe some awe-inspiring moments you’ve had with God. How have these moments impacted you?
  • 2. What changes do you need to make in your life so that you can start having more awe-inspiring moments with God?
  • 3. Will you be rejoicing the way the Angels did this Christmas?

Hint: Be spontaneous this Christmas!

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional

In God we trust?

December 11, 2011 By

By Joel Samways

It’s so easy to get worried and anxious with the things that are going on in our lives. Whether it be exams, finding a job, problems at home or with friends, we end up always stressing out. It could be anything involving any decision, big or small.

So often, we just worry worry worry, which ends up taking up all of our thoughts, thoughts that could be a lot more productive. God made us intelligent beings, and so naturally we like to think through every single possibility of every situation we come up against. But God hasn’t called us to live that way.

Philippians 4:6-7 
Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

God says that in every situation, no matter what dilemma we come across, we shouldn’t worry. Instead we should be praying and focusing on the God who holds the entire universe in the palm of His hand, believing that His will, will be done. We can be the person at the front of youth worshipping God with all we have, we could be the most humble servant in church, but as soon as we come up against a problem we tend to forget how big our God is. We forget that He is in control. We need to remind ourselves of exactly how great our God is. He is more than able to move in your situation, but it comes down to your faith (Ephesians 3:20). Like the above verse says, we need to slow down, step back and remind ourselves of the God we serve. Present your situation to God and then leave it in His hands, having faith that His will would be done. It might not always be what you wanted, but IT IS what’s best for you.

And the amazing thing is that we can be going through the toughest situation, or be facing the biggest problem and still not know what the outcome will be, BUT……

The verse says that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart. This means that you could be in a place where you, naturally as a human being would be worrying, your heart should be racing at a million beats a minute because it isn’t normal or natural for anyone on earth to feel peace in your situation, ……. yet YOU DO!

……and not only is this good for us, but God can use that to touch others in a way you can’t imagine. When other people see you at peace in the situation that your going through they stop and think ‘wow, I want that’. Other people can’t understand how we can still be standing steady through the storms we face.

So I encourage you, don’t live in worry, don’t be anxious. Instead, let God know the problems you face, let Him know your deepest feelings, and leave it in His hands, because He is in control anyway. Put your trust in Him. Then, with faith, let the peace of God fill you through and through.

Matthew 6:25-34 

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional

Do you smell Good or Bad?

December 4, 2011 By

By Micaela Alcaino

 “God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. For we are like a sweet smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost. For those who are being lost it is a deadly stench that kills, but for those who are being saved it is a fragrance that brings life. Who then, is equal to such a task? we are not like so many others, who handle God’s message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his precedes as servants of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

So once when I was in primary school, every day when I grabbed my bag I began to smell something really really bad, and it seem to get worse. It didn’t matter what I used, deodorant, perfume, my bag still smelt horrible, and to tell you the truth, trying to cover it up with another smell actually made the smell worse :|

To my nice surprise after a thorough search one day, I found a nice rotting banana in one of the small pockets of the bag. This led me to have to empty my whole bag out and scrub it and wash it for a very long time until the smell went away, and by that time I was still paranoid that i could still smell something. So lesson being, don’t try cover up a bad smell with other smells, if I tried to find the banana in the first place when it was only in its first stages of rotting, it wouldn’t have gotten to the level it did.

*sigh* oh the mind my young self.

This verse is using the analogy of us being like a sweet smelling incense, in which it spreads among not just us christians but among all our friends, family, acquaintances and strangers. We want to strive to be ones that are fragrances or perfumes that bring life, not death.

The end of the verse says “we are not like so many others, who handle God’s message as if it were cheap merchandise” or in the message translation it says “but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap.” Just like I did with the banana, I tried to cover it up with nice smells, so that it wouldn’t appear to smell so bad.

Try to strive to be transparent in your lives and walks with God. We may not have it all down in life, but aim to live the best you can for God. Aim to be a sweet smelling incense to your friends, who smell it, but just can’t yet put a finger on why you smell so good.

In other words be like Soup. haha, don’t laugh, just listen to me. When my mum makes soup, the smell fills the whole house of yum delicious soupy goodness, but usually when I begin to smell it, its still cooking, so I can smell it, and almost taste it, I just have to search for it and wait with patience.

 Be the ones that give that smell and taste to your friends. Yearn to live lives that make your friends smell that soup, and search for it so they can taste it for themselves. As humans we were created to desire things of heaven, bring that smell of heaven closer to your friends. But don’t try “water it down” with conforming to what they do, to try get them to listen. If you do, and then try to “cover it up” with a good smell, the bad smell will eventually surface. If your smell is simple and sweet, without layers of good and bad smells, people will be drawn to it.

I love when people smell good, as some of you know hahah and when I walk down the street and smell someone that smells good my nose kinda follows (don’t worry i don’t stalk… much) I just want to encourage you that if you soak up Gods word and aim to live lives pleasing to God, your friends will begin to stop in their tracks and follow that sweet fragrance your letting out.

So my challenge is to you, to stop and look at your life, and question yourselves: “are you smelling sweet or bad at the moment?” What changes do you need to make (or scrub out) to smell sweet again.

Filed Under: Leaders Devotional

Prayer. Just do it.

November 21, 2011 By

By Micaela Alcaino

Prayer. Such a big topic for christians, but something many of us neglect at times. I think because this week is sadly our last week at one80 i want to give you a new perspective on prayer. So let me ask you a few questions:

How often do you pray?

How long do you pray for?

What do you pray about?

Do you give your best part of your day to pray? 

Do you even pray at all?

Like a tree we are torn between two worlds, apart of us want to be rooted in the soil, another part reaching for the sky. But because our roots can grasp the soil more securely than our leaves can grasp the sky, the soil becomes more real. It’s something we can see and hold, but a leaf can’t hold the sky.

What we don’t realise is that the sky is soaked into our leaves, taken into its cell.  If the tree is deprived of all the sky has to offer it will not get enough carbon dioxide and will  wither and put more pressure on the roots to provide nourishment.

In the same way if we shut ourselves off from God, shielded from the sunshine, we will seek significance elsewhere, sending out its roots in search of the right job, friends, school, groups, thinking if it gets enough money, power, status, “experience” it will satisfy its longing for significance.

Truth be told, I know so well how that feels like . Only a few weeks ago I managed to slip into my depression and hit a mega low on my self esteem, which resulted in my crying all weekend. What led to this? it was because i allowed myself to be “too busy” to pray and filled my God time with things i thought kept me rooted in the ground, instead it was feeding me wrong perspectives of myself and my outlook on the world.

After that I had to spend a good time devouring his word and in prayer to get me out of thinking negatively and it took a lot more energy and hard work to get out of it than it was to slip into it.

Its so easy to become “too busy.” But i stress to you, that in your holidays, where routine is thrown out the window and one80 isn’t happening on fridays, make time to talk to God. We have 24 hours in a day, and I’m sure you can take 10 mins from your outing, and from your movie and from your friends company to make room for God. Make it your God endeavour to look for him, listen for his voice, wait on him.

Each day you are given a finite amount of time and you could go on without involving God, but i tell you, that means facing the day in your own strength and not his, and can lead to exhaustion and stress, or just an idle state.

 So I encourage you, there is no wrong way of spending time with God, but give him the best of your day these coming holidays. Think of creative ways of praying. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • -Journal your prayers: This is my usual way of talking to God. Go to kooring and by a journal and begin to write your prayers to God.
  • -Take a prayer walk: hike in a cores and praise God for his beautiful creation. Walk around your neighborhood and pray for the family in each home you pass. Or take a “prayer walk” on the sidewalk around your school.
  • -Pray over your calendar or schedule: Got a test coming up? Pray for peace of mind. Pray for meetings with your friends or the people at your work
  • -Partner up in prayer: the more the merrier, gather in groups and pray for one80, summer camp, your family, friends etc.
  • -Be quiet: silence means getting away from distractions like music and TV. A quiet, little-used corner at the library or park. As you listen, don’t just expect to hear a voice. But do expect God to tug at your heart, move your conscience, or help you realize something you need to do or change.
  • -Keep a prayer on your lips: Dozens of thoughts pass through your mind daily. You daydream. You may think bad or gossipy thoughts. Turn those daydreams and not-so-great thoughts into prayers. Ask God to help a person hurt by gossip. Ask him to forgive you for thoughts that take your mind places it shouldn’t go. Turn daydreams and other passing thoughts into moments to recognize God’s presence in your life. As you learn to keep a prayer on your lips, you’ll come a little closer to understanding what it means to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV).
Filed Under: Leaders Devotional, Uncategorized
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