DEVOTIONAL 46: KEEP YOUR CHANNELS CLEAR
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
Communication has changed so much since I was a child growing up in Texas in the ‘50s. If a phone call were very important to my mother, she would be sure not to accept any other calls all day as she waited for that special call. Or she would answer and say, “I have to get off this phone. So-and-so (usually someone in her family from Georgia) said she would call today. I have to keep the line clear.” It was not that the other calls were not important to her, but a call from her mother was a call she would prioritize over everyone and everything.
Naturally, this was before caller id and call waiting. We had to make choices in those days if we truly valued a call and were willing to put that special person ahead of everything else.
Prayer is like that. With our busy lives, prayer does not happen without some intentionality. The old saying that “the good is the enemy of the best” is more true for Christians than for anyone. There are so many good things we can do with our time. There are so many Godly people we can talk to who would be edifying. There are so many in need we could be serving and talking to. But if we do not keep the line clear for the Lord Himself to communicate with us, our prayer life can be haphazard and not as deep and rich as we want it to be. If we really want to experience the Lord fully in His power and majesty and we want to receive His direction in an effective way, we will have to make time for it.
You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
I think of God as the ultimate CEO of the world. If in my business, a CEO wished to communicate with me, I would offer him a specific time, one that would be the best use of his time and would allow me to arrive in good mental and physical condition. I would not casually say, “Let’s get together some morning next week. I will give you a specific time at my convenience as it will depend on how busy my days are.” And I would block off all the time we both would need. During our time together, I would give the CEO a generous amount of time to share with me, and I would not do all the talking. That type of appointment would probably yield fruitful conversation. And that is what we should respectfully do for God.
Another technology that was far different in the ‘50s was television. Depending on where you lived, you might receive just 2 or 3 channels. In some geographic areas, the reception for one of those channels might not be very clear. You might have to add an enhancement to your antenna or move the antenna closer to the window. Similarly, in prayer, you must find the spot where your reception for hearing from Him is the best. Some prayer teachers insist that you must have a prayer room or, at least, a prayer closet. Some wonderful women of prayer I know do this and it is right for them. I have the room to have such a place, but my lifelong habit of praying by my bed is a familiar spot for the Lord and me. Dropping to my knees first thing in the morning is where He expects to meet me first. I move on later to my bed as I read His Word and pray as I go, being directed by whatever He is revealing to me in His Word. Maybe I like the intimacy of this habit that has worn a comfortable groove into my prayer life. Even though as an Army brat I changed schools six times in six years during my childhood, the unfailing way the Lord would meet me in whatever state or on whatever base we lived in was blessed assurance. It is how I saw my mother pray, and I know with absolute certainty she was a close and intimate friend of the Lord’s; their communication was precious, and I had the privilege of watching it develop through the years. Saying prayers was the first thing I remember my mother teaching me, and in the final years of her life with Alzheimer’s, it was something we shared till the very end. She no longer remembered even how to eat, but when I would read the passages she had marked in her Bible and pray for her aloud, an expression of such peace would settle over her face. Her entire demeanor would change. The Holy Spirit was still communicating with her in a way I will not understand on this earth, but may one day.
Like me, you have to find the place you can best have an extended visit with the Lord. At a minimum, it should be free of distraction. You may have to get up extra early to ensure that, as I did for the years I was a working single mom of a little one. It seems impossible at first. How can you give up that hour when your kids are small and you are so exhausted? But most people who try it are amazed at the rest they get and the change in their lives.
I am not being legalistic. Some people can carve out the time after the morning frenzy is over or some, I am told, in the evening. For many of us who tried that, we had to be honest that life would often intrude and we were unreliable about keeping that appointment with the Lord if we did not protect that time for communication first thing in the morning. And there is much precedent for praying in the mornings, including Jesus’ practice of regularly setting aside alone time to talk with His Father (And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35.) Or the example of the Godly man Job comes to mind (And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all Job 1:5.) But the Lord will lead you to the right time and place if you ask Him because it aligns with His will.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-40
Another thing about the 50s was that television, transistor radios, and landlines did not always get the crystal clear reception we have today, and there was static. Sometimes called interference, this distracting noise and sometimes snowy tv pictures resulted when you had two things going on at once. Your sister drying her hair in the next room could cause a line across the television screen or make an annoying noise if the two appliances were operating in parallel. Today, when you let phone calls and other distractions interrupt your time with Him, this can cause interference in your reception during prayer. Some people today say that they have their quiet time as they drive to work. I love praising the Lord and talking to him as I drive to work or on a long car trip, but that is a different type of communication than I have been referring to. When you do two things at once, you are not giving Him your full attention. Maybe you cannot give Him dedicated time every day, but He certainly deserves it. Finding time most days to give Him your undivided attention will bless you more than Him. That meeting with Him is first and foremost, and it can transform your career, your relationship with each family member, your friendship with Him, and most of all, the peace or lack of peace you live with. This old hymn says it best:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Helen H. Lemmel
I will conclude with the words of Paul, a man of great power through prayer and the Holy Spirit, a man who did not hesitate to ask for anything from the Father:
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
More Scripture to consider:
Psalm 88:13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
Psalm 5:3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.