Exodus 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
‘I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.’ — Martin Luther
Our time of prayer must be the most important appointment in our busiest day packed with meetings, appointments and impactful decisions. The longer we spend in our prayer closet the more effective we will be in the secular world. When our secular and social life gets busy we must get busier in the prayer closet. Pastor Adrian Rogers said, “If satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” Busy is a tool that satan uses to get us off track and to steal our time”. Prayer is the power that makes us efficient and effective in the world but if we allow busyness to steal our prayer time then, we might become popular and prominent but will be powerless.
Martin Luther, the German theologian and religious reformer of the Protestant Reformation Movement, spent extended hours of prayer when he had important decisions to make. Jesus prayed all night before He selected His 12 disciples. He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). I’m sure Jesus would have had a long conversation about Judas the Iscariot who betrayed Him with the Father. Judas was not a bad choice but a well discussed decision to accomplish the purpose of Jesus on earth. Moses came down from his prayer closet with his face radiating the glory of God. His time of prayer on the mountain changed him and gave him the confidence to continue leading the half-a-million grumbling and grouching crowd.
“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” – Corrie Ten Boom.
Is your schedule extremely busy, hectic and tiring? Rearrange your priorities and spend quality time with God. Talk to Him but also stop to listen to Him to make your eventful day – effective.
Prayer must be the first appointment of our busy day:
1. Change: Prayer changes us to understand the will of God. Prayer doesn’t change God’s agenda but changes ours. Martin Luther became the reformative missionary as he heard God speaking to him through the scriptures during his prayer time. Prayer changes our perspectives and aligns us with God’s perceptions.
2. Compassionate: Prayer makes us deflect darkness and reflect Christ-likeness. God’s still small voice fills us with compassion. We will not be the same after we hear His whispers. The face of Moses was shining with God’s glory as he started looking at the complaining congregation through the eyes of the Lord God.
3. Confidence: Prayer makes us bold and confident. The truth that “a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God (Romans 2:29b), will be deeply rooted in our hearts when we habitually, meticulously and regularly spend time with God.
Don’t let your busy schedule steal your prayer time. Prayer is the most important and inevitable appointment of the day.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Prayer: Father God, help me to rearrange my agenda by giving you the first and the longest appointment of the day. Amen.
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