A GOOD SOAKING
Even though I tried to steer away from the puddles, I still got my new shoes wet anyway. We had just gotten a good soaking rain and I was trying to make my way into work. The large umbrella over my head, was not helping to keep my shoes dry. Instead of thanking God for the rain, I chose to grumble about the puddles.
Have you ever noticed that when we are going on with our day to day busyness, that sometimes we focus on things that we should not? We soak our brains with things of this world and forget to fill our brains with God’s love and His promises.
Sure, I pray. But there are times I realize as I have been saying the words that my mind wanders. Have you ever done that? It really frustrates me when my mind goes off on its own tangent. My prayer has just become words with no meaning. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men….And when you pray do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard by their many words.” This type of prayer is not one to soak my spirit. Our stomachs tell us when we need to fill them. Why are we so willing to dehydrate or spirits and souls by just saying words that have no meaning?
The scriptures tell us that our prayers can accomplish so much when we ask in faith. James 5:15 tells us “The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Also, in verse 16 of the same chapter, James tells us “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Let me share with you of something that happened to a dear friend of mine. She has stage four cancer in a large part of her body. We as a collective body at church and also in our own personal prayers, have been praying for her. She has been on a special cancer treatment just for her. She got amazing news that ALL of the tumors had shrunk to half of the size they originally were! Praise God! She still has stage four cancer, but is much improved. Prayer does work! Prayer, when we are not just saying the words to impress others. When we focus on what we are saying to God, we can see what can happen when we pray! When my mind wanders and I lose focus, I am just saying words. We should not just pray when the bad things of this earth happen, but every day, several times a day, reaching out to God in love and praise!
When the earth has become dry, because of lack of rain, it takes a good soaking to even let the dust settle. Sometimes, because of our lack of focus in our prayers, our souls do not get the good soaking we need. When we don’t pray like we should our souls become parched, our spirits become dehydrated, because we are trying to walk on our own and “dodge the puddles.”
When I realize my mind has wandered off in another direction, I try to get my focus back on my Savior. I remember Jesus died on the cross with His arms wide open giving me a way to become a child of His, and a way to come to His mercy seat through prayer.
When my life becomes just one big blur, I need to remind myself to slow down and feel the good soaking that my Savior can give me through His word, meditation and prayer. It is during these times when I am so busy with things of this world, that I have started focusing on living the small story of my life here on earth, instead of the bigger story of my life eternal.
Rearrange your priority list and put God back as number one! When we can do that, then we can close our umbrella of this world, “kick off our shoes” and stand in the middle of the down pour and become soaked in His love and guidance.
Thank you, God for giving us this privilege to come before you, bare our souls and feel the welcome of the good soaking downpour of Your love!
Till next time! Keela