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Spiritual maturity is something I think we can all agree on...that this is something to be not only desired, but absolutely necessary for our continued growth. Part of our own self assessment involves discerning whether we have that sought after balance between the physical and the spiritual components of our day to day lives, or whether we are currently riding high on the mountaintops, or are even experiencing the deep lows of the valleys. One thing is for sure...we would all like to maintain that balance, or have more of the joyous times where trials have disappeared into the background as we travel forever onwards and upwards. Times of respite are there to ensure we get much needed rest, to recharge our batteries and not grow weary. Many of us refer to these times knowing we are in our “comfort zones”.
Recently it came to my attention that this balance was out of kilter in my life, meaning my work life was more successful than my spiritual life. This felt odd as it was most unusual and quite noticeable, like things were back to front. It takes effort to ensure that work remains casual and it needs to fit in with my spiritual life...not an easy thing to do but God has helped ensure that for 12 years things have worked out according to His timetable in line with the weekly Sabbath and all the holy day festivals. It is such a relief knowing that requests for leave do not need approval and the peace of mind is complete knowing that twice a year the whole of the Days of Unleavened Bread Festival as well as the Feast of Tabernacles and The Last Great Day will be blocks of time set apart to honour God.
What happened recently was that I was able to secure 3 weeks of documentation, work which is my very favourite work of all because I get to assess what is required and then be creative in writing up documents in order to specify the care needs of the individual. Any time I can “play with words on paper” I am in my element and time seems to disappear like a vapour. There is a fair amount of “thinking outside of the box” which I enjoy as well. Anyway I was able to do the work and meet their specific deadlines so things went very well and all 3 bosses were complementary about liking my particular style with comments such as “well done, you nailed it!” It felt great to be well liked and appreciated for my skills and there is nothing wrong with that. It is as it should be. Being an ambassador for Christ by setting a good example at work (and everywhere else) is what we are all about (2 Corinthians 5:20). However I was so engrossed with my work duties while sharing an office with others I inadvertently shut God out but knew He was there and wanted to be included. What a stark contrast to how things usually are.
The travel time involved each week for this rural location takes between 11-12 hours as the place of employment is approximately 450 km away from home. Driving is quite fun for us as we see more of the world and our beautiful country as we chat about anything and everything, laugh a lot, sing road trip songs (think “One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow” and “99 green bottles hanging on the wall”) and others of the same ilk. The “icing on the cake” is always planting seeds through placing Beyond Today magazines in laundromats and various other places where magazines are available to read. Also stuffing leaflets into letterboxes, and pinning these up on notice boards at public places such as Post Offices or the General Store are other ways to spread the news too. This trip however was more challenging as the weather was colder now being well into winter with less hours of light to walk the streets. Plus a husband with a broken foot slows us down a bit BUT we are not going to be stopped by the enemy!
Living away from home in one room instead of the luxury of several rooms interrupts the “comfort zone” and affects one’s prayer life. What happened to me was that I found myself not praying as much as there was very little privacy. To pray in the toilet room which was tiny seemed wrong in my eyes. Even the bathroom did not seem right as someone else may need to make use of it. There was no way I could relax and tune out from the world. I was used to completely immersing myself in prayer with no distractions as I needed to concentrate by tuning in to our Father. Sometimes I need to close the bedroom door at home because Ralph the cat can be persistently annoying in seeking attention. Obviously I am a creature of habit and quite set in my ways. I think most of us like our routines and I guess that is why we adopt them because they fit in with our lifestyle, personality and preferences.
Time For A Plan To Resist And Overcome
Upon reflection about my prayer life, it was easier when single in the respect of being able to pray anywhere in the house as most of the time I was on my own or the only one up so early in the morning. I truly cherished these times. Therefore my habits were formed to pray in the living room or bedroom every morning depending on whether I was going to work or staying at home. When staying home that meant longer prayers as time was “my own” so to speak and that always happened in the bedroom. I found myself wondering what do others do when they have no privacy? The Bible tells us where to pray in Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”. This scripture deeply resonates with me now as privacy is important. God is telling us this and I realise I took this for granted for years without even thinking what it must be like for others who struggle to have a private room available when they need it just for their use to pray. The many times we can read of Jesus eagerly going off on His own into the wilderness to pray to His Father speak volumes.
I have wondered if it is just me with this issue of needing a quiet space to “zone out” from the everyday noises of the world in order to get a good prayer connection? About the only sounds I can cope with while in prayer are the twittering sounds of birds chirping sweetly outside my bedroom window or the sound of rain. Prayer is either enjoyable or difficult for me depending on the surroundings as any loud noises such as next door neighbours arguing or building renovations nearby interfere with my ability to connect. I know that I want to be like Daniel who prayed on his knees three times a day as was his custom outlined in Daniel 6:10. This is something to strive for but sometimes it feels out of my reach when away from home and living in one room. My prayer preference is to pray without ceasing as in talking constantly to my Best Friend throughout the day while engaging in whatever activity is before me (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 12:12). This is what I have greatly missed.
I took the ability to pray for granted. How could this have happened? It was a gradual decline starting with praying briefly in bed at night rather than on my knees because I was exhausted. Going to bed earlier instead of wanting my selfish will is what I should have done. God has been so lovingly generous in providing me so many opportunities and perfect conditions in order to pray sincere, heartfelt prayers in earnest, in joy, in grief, through trials and tribulations, in personal times of great jubilation, and it took a new environment with a little hardship to wake me up to recognise this. God could have given me a huge trial over this issue but He didn’t...He was merciful. So much to learn and to overcome. How blind can one be? I sort of knew this but must have hardened my heart through self justification as we do (Jeremiah 17:9) but now I know! It reminds me of those who blame a piece of equipment for their shortcomings — however it is their lack of character which needs to be put under the spotlight of examination. The time is at hand to repent, change my ways, and transform to embrace the best prayer life possible!
After giving this matter much thought and due consideration it would be beneficial to switch my prayer life around when away from home and develop a plan to pray somewhere outdoors at lunch time in God’s creation where I feel closer to God. After work I could go and park the car somewhere and pray on my own. In the mornings I will have to pray on my knees when the bedroom is free in a shorter space of time when it is just me in there. Not ideal or what I would choose but I think God wants us to do the best with what we’ve got at the time and not make excuses or justify poor behaviour. All I know is I did not like the sense of uneasiness or grieving of the Holy Spirit because my prayer life suffered (Ephesians 4:30). To have a plan of attack for when things begin to spiral out of control is wise. We must seize opportunities as they arise and not put our prayer life on hold or in jeopardy because things are not as optimal as we are used to having them. Different circumstances may seem difficult and challenging but if we keep it simple and do the right thing we will stay close to God because we have a plan (Psalm 145:18). The reality is that our enemy, the adversary, would absolutely love it if we are not constant in prayer. We have a battle to fight on our knees, and as we stand, and as we continue on our walk with God. So let us continue on as instructed to in Ephesians 6:10-18, considering our continual conversation with our heavenly Father a privilege and a great honor in which we should rejoice. We can and will do this because God is for us and with us and will never leave us, as the Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6. We can do this as we are all in this together! Let’s aim for a perfect prayer life from imperfect humans.