Proverbs 10:9
"The man of integrity walks securely..."
God, You’re Wasting My Time!
By Paul Dailey
Guest Writer
Have you ever felt like saying, “God, you’re
wasting my time”? Unknowingly, I had developed this attitude toward the Lord
in prayer. It happened very subtly and quite unintentionally, but
nevertheless, it was there.
For some time I had felt the
prompting of the Spirit of God to just slow down in prayer. You
could probably quote Psalm 46:10 if I started it for you. “Be still ...”—and
you know the rest — “…and know that I am God.”
Yet, when it came to my prayer
time, I was all about charging ahead, doing spiritual warfare, binding and
loosing, shouting down the powers of darkness, and declaring the will of God
into the earth. Now, don’t get me wrong. There is most certainly a place for
this type of prayer. And, personally, that is part of my character because I
really identify with the warrior mentality. But I had begun to neglect those
times of real intimacy and quietness with the Lord.
My pastor recently returned from a
week of services at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, home to that
great move of God that has reached around the globe and affected millions.
The most profound thing he brought back was the concept of “soaking in the
presence of God.” He began to describe how the Lord had used this trip to
introduce him to a new level of prayer. It’s a place in God where we just
shut down and listen to the Spirit. Rather than filling his time before God
with all sorts of words, he would simply put on some quiet “soaking music”
and lay at God’s feet.
I think at first I laughed him off.
“Well, that’s all well and good for him but blah, blah, blah …” You know how
we get when someone tries to introduce something new. We dismiss them as
nutty and keep on with our old way of doing things. But I watched as his
relationship with God went to a whole new level and his passion for God grew
by the day while mine faded like an old pair of jeans.
That’s when life hit me. There I
was, naked and broken before God. Where was my shouting? Where was my
binding and loosing? Where was my charging toward the frontline? I had the
wind knocked out of me, and my only recourse was to crawl to God on my hands
and knees and plead for His mercy. I thought to myself, This soaking
thing isn’t such a bad idea after all. I didn’t have the strength
anymore to swing that sword even one more time.
So it was there on a Sunday night,
while I lay on the floor at church, that I began to learn the value of just
shutting up before God. And the most amazing thing happened! When I stopped
talking, it became so much easier to hear God talk. “This is not wasted
time,” He said. Over and over again, He kept telling me that. “This is not
wasted time.” It was uncomfortable at first because I felt like I should be
doing or saying something. But I couldn’t deny that after just an hour or so
on my face before God, simply listening and soaking, I was changed.
Something real and significant had taken place in my Spirit. I couldn’t put
my finger on it, but neither could I deny it.
Then yesterday, while soaking in
the presence of God again, the Spirit directed me to Mark chapter four.
Jesus had just spent the afternoon speaking to the crowds in parables. The
Word tells us that He didn’t say anything to them without using parables.
But when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything.
That was it! That’s why God was
drawing me into these times of soaking. Without that intimate and quiet time
alone with Jesus, the secrets of the kingdom of heaven remain a hazy
mystery. So, this idea of soaking in God’s presence, a time that I viewed as
unproductive, was actually the very thing I needed.
If you’ve been sensing a lack of
power in your walk with God, or if you feel like you’re stuck in the mud,
spinning your wheels but going nowhere, just get before God and soak a
while. Don’t pray, don’t sing, don’t shout, march, declare, or proclaim. Put
on some quiet worship music, and just lay there and listen to God.
Sure, you’ll be a little
uncomfortable at first and your mind will wander, as mine did. But soon
you’ll find yourself hearing God much more clearly. You’ll find that He will
begin to explain things to you that before were mysteries. God is not
wasting your time.
Devotion is taken from
CBN.com
God Bless,
Elder Joe Aman
Here I would
like to address a subject that I have had people ask me. How do you
feel about your wife being a Pastor? I think it is wonderful.
God calls male and female into His service. To answer this question
more in-depth, please click on the picture below to read exactly how God
feels about Women Pastors.
