Distractions

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6)

Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us - that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given.

The remedy for distractions is the same now  as it was in earlier and simpler times, vis., prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the inner life. The psalmist said, "Be still, and know" (Psalm 46:10), and Christ told us to enter into our closet, shut the door and pray unto the Father. It still works!

Distractions "must" be conquered or they will conquer us. So let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the Word of God and our hearts with praise. In that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you" (John 14:27).

Lord, it is difficult to find that "closet" where I can commune with You in unhurried, uncluttered quiet. Calm me now as I seek that peaceful meditation. Amen

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Vacate The Throne Room of Your Heart

"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18)

Fenelon teaches that to make our deeds acceptable to God it is not necessary that we change our occupation (if it is honest), but only that we begin to do for Christ's sake what we had formerly been doing for our own. To some of us this will seem too tame and ordinary. We want to do great things for God, to hazard our lives in dramatic acts of devotion that will attract the attention of fellow Christians and perhaps of the larger world outside. Visions of Huss at the stake, Luther at the Diet of Worms or Livingstone in the heart of Africa flit before out minds as we think on spiritual things.  Plain, workaday Christians like us - how can we rise to such heroic heights? With or families to support, with no one threatening us in the dull routine of the commonplace, with no one threatening us with imprisonment or death: how can we live lives acceptable to God? What can we do to satisfy the heart of our Father in heaven?

"The answer is nigh thee, even in thy mouth" (Romans 10:8). Vacate the throne room of your heart and enthrone Jesus there. Make Him your all in all and try yourself to become less and less. Dedicate your entire life to His honor alone and shift the motives of your life from self to God. Let the reason back of your daily conduct be Christ and His glory, not yourself, nor your family nor your country nor your church. In all things let Him have the preeminence.

It is my prayer, Lord, that in all things Christ might have preeminence so I can do great things for You. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~