Lately, my spirit has felt out of sync… like I’m not hitting on all cylinders. Upon more reflection, I’ve come to the realization that my problem lies in that time spent in prayer is woefully inadequate.
Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians to “be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Pray continually? Without ceasing? Ok, so I’ve heard that before… but what’s it look like in real practical living?
I couldn’t really put my finger on it until I was thinking about networking the other day and it struck me: I’m on still on dial-up when it comes to the discipline of prayer. I connect when I feel like it, give and get a minimum requirement, jump back off-line and go on my merry way.
What are the arguments for transferring someone from dial-up Internet to broadband?
1.) Faster connection for the purpose of a more effective experience.
2.) Maintaining an always-on connection to receive updates and security/protection as needed.
3.) Enabled connectivity and correspondence to peers and others within the network.
Online capability is somewhat like the life’s-blood to a computer. The fatter the pipe (bandwidth), the better the experience for the user and the more that individual is enabled to function.
If my prayer-life is still on dial-up, what effect has that got on my spirit? How well-connected am I? What is my effectiveness?
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be praying through the Psalms in an effort to “upgrade to broadband.” If this post has resonated with anyone, I encourage you to join me in an effort to get connected.
Paul, only you can turn the internet into an analogy for prayer. And what’s sadder is I could relate to every single word you said.
I find that consistent, meaningful prayer is the most difficult discipline to maintain. God bless you as you start tis journey. Your analogy is very apt.
Boo yah