10 Steps to Preparedness in Prayer – Step 1

(Jer 29:13 NASB)  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

This morning we continue our series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.”  For the next few days I am going to cover 10 steps to preparedness in prayer.  I pray these can serve as a list of things you can glance over to remind yourself of what to do in order to be effective in prayer.  Here is Step 1: Separate Yourself.

In our focus text the Lord says through Jeremiah that we will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all our heart.  Millions of people seek God daily, but I would venture to say that only a small percentage have a true encounter with God as a result of their search, because most of us are far too busy to disconnect from the world long enough to earnestly seek God.  I am guilty of this.  I have a Blackberry for work-related emails, a personal Smartphone for personal/ministry emails, Facebook, Twitter, and Internet browsing, along with an iPad, a personal laptop, and a work laptop.  I travel quite a bit and I have mastered the art of going through airport security with all these electronic devices.  A friend of mine gives me a hard time about always being “connected,” and while I shrug it off, it’s true.  I get up early, go to sleep late, and spend a great deal of time “connected” to others – face to face, on the phone, or online – in between.  With all of this going on I have to make a concerted effort to disconnect when it is time to spend quality time with God.

Have you ever held a conversation with someone while you were thinking about something else?  I have done this.  Not only is it rude, but it is also ineffective.  If I don’t give my attention to the conversation I am having, then the conversation will suffer and whatever else I am thinking about will also suffer, because I am not fully committed to it either.  While I am not a psychic and God has not revealed this to me, I would guess that the majority of Christians in today’s fast-paced society set apart a few moments to pray, only to do so while they are thinking about something else as well.  It’s hard to be effective in prayer if you are thinking about your next meeting in the back of your mind.

Jesus said, “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” (Mat 6:6).  The Message Bible paraphrase of this verse reads, “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God.  Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.  The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:

1.  You owe it to yourself and to your God to give Him your undivided attention in prayer.

2.  Quiet and alone time with God enables you to strip yourself of every care and concern!

3.  If you earnestly make the effort to seek God, you will find Him.

4.  Removing all distractors will help you seek God with ALL your heart.

5.  Designate a place to pray.  Separate yourself from your normal environment.  It’s preferable to set a designated place to pray, so your mind and body know that when you go there, you are set to pray.  Doing this will help you condition yourself to disconnect from the world, in order to connect with God, when you enter your designated place.

Closing Confession:  Father, thank You for this reminder.  While I make it a habit to pray all day, from anywhere, and at any time, I also make it a habit to designate a special time and place where I can disconnect from the world in order to connect with You.  I love You Father and I want to have personal and intimate encounters with You.  I will make time to spend quality time with You and when I do, I promise to disconnect from the daily grind, in order to give You my undivided attention.  I will seek You with all my heart and I shall find You every time I do.  I declare this by faith!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!

This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper!