Ready to Pray?
The clock of the Stapleton Road chapel in Bristol is permanently stuck at twenty to eight[1]. Blazoned across its face are the words:
Time
to Seek
the
Lord
Four ways to "get ready" together!
This Autumn, I have stripped fruit from more or less every hedgerow in our neighbourhood - no bramble, no elderberry tree was safe! The greatest frustration with foraging is always when you see a promising patch ahead, but as you draw closer you see that only a few of the fruit are ripe, and the rest are still unready. This experience got me thinking about a certain passage in the Gospels...
A Pattern for a Purpose
I often dont notice the difference my daily quiet time with God really makes until I fall out of the discipline of having one. Being too busy to stay still and know that He is God renders me an easy target for the one who walks around looking to destroy what God has built. Before I know it, I become fearful, doubtful, grumpy and insecure.
I used to think of devotional times as a necessity to please God. Something to do, to achieve, to perfect, in the hope that it may earn Gods attention, mercy, perhaps even love.
Location, location, location!
When thinking about consistent devotional prayer, location can be very important. I guess you might think that if the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, why should location matter at all? In a sense it shouldnt: God can be at your desk whilst you pray in the library just as he can be present in your room just before you go to bed. However, I know that Im a human, and in the hubbub of this world I need consistent time and space in order to focus in prayer, and I want to give you two top tips as to what we can to make sure our devotional locations are on point: