Shut The Door - 6/12/06

Matthew 6:6-7, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. "

I think God is reminding me here that my devotional time is just that - devotional. I must devote my time entirely to Him when I make a point to read His word and seek His guidance.

First of all, I haven't been regularly devoting time to God lately. Not that I'm not in prayer every day, but there is a special connection made when I step aside from my daily routine and responsibilities to check in with Him and just spend quality time together.

Lately too, when I do get to my devotions, I've been almost trying to multi-task. I may read the Bible in the living room while the T.V. is on or carrying on a conversation. I believe this is a reminder from God regarding the first entry I made in this journal based on the scripture Luke 5:16, "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray." I must completely detach myself from everything in the world ... to withdraw to a lonely place and pray. I have found that only when my attention is completely focused on God can I hear Him leading me through scripture or inspiration. If I'm focusing on what I hear from the TV or radio, I'm not focusing on Him and won't hear what He has to say.

We are supposed to model our lives after Christ's. That is a huge task because I am so self-centered naturally. But making sure I also model my prayer life after His, that tendency will naturally be kept in check. ...Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray...

I feel a bit like our cat (who I'm pretty sure has Attention Deficit Disorder) . Sometimes to get his attention, I'll have to snap my fingers or clap at him and shout his name. Then he'll look at me with his head cocked to the side and realize, "OH, you mean I'm not supposed to be on this countertop! My bad..."

I think maybe God may have clapped His hands at me to get my attention to remind me that I must not lose my focus or take my devotional time lightly. This is not an option; what I do in the rest of my day is.