Are you running on empty?

Fifth in the series Get close to God

How long can you go without food or drink before you start feeling weak?  Whether it’s one day or 40, you’ll eventually run out of energy.  Starting our day without the Bread of Life or Living Water and continuing without walking with the Spirit will also drain us dry, rendering us ineffective as Christ followers. 

A soldier would be foolish to leave his battle gear behind but that’s what we do when we fail to put on the full armor of God.  (Ephesians 6:10-17)  The shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit (word of God) can only be used if we have spent time in prayer and in the scriptures.  Since “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil,” preparation is vital!

I once heard a pastor say, “quit trying to live the Christian life and start training instead.”  An athlete does not succeed without vigorous daily workouts and conditioning.   Getting a spiritual snack at church once or twice a week just won’t cut it.  As the Israelites had to gather the manna every morning, we need to rest, reflect, and be refreshed daily in the presence of our Lord to have the power to face every challenge or simply to be aware of opportunities we might otherwise miss if we just try to wing it on our own strength.  In Luke 5:16 we read that “Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”  In the next chapter he went up to a mountain and stayed up all night in prayer before he chose his twelve disciples the next day from out of the large crowd of followers.  If Jesus had to get away often to a secluded place to meet with his father, how much more do we need to?

OK, is that enough illustrations for you?  Maybe you already know how important the morning quiet time is but you’ve been there and done that, and haven’t experienced much benefit from it, or not enough to motivate you to make it a daily habit.  After all, we find time to do the things we want to do, right?  I struggled for many years with inconsistency, until I finally got so fed up with my lukewarm and lifeless existence about two years ago that I decided to find out once and for all if God actually could be known personally.  I now cherish the morning watch so much I have a hard time keeping it under an hour. 

“Ever thirsting is the secret of never thirsting”

Yes, the wisdom of Andrew Murray strikes again.  He goes on to say, “It is only into the thirst of an empty soul that the streams of living water flow.”

But you may ask, “What if I’m not that thirsty for God or willing to make the effort to get to know him?  Then I will ask you to think of a situation when you didn’t want to do something, but later you were glad you did.  We don’t always like to do the things that are good for us.  Some times we don’t see the benefits right away.  Let me give you one more illustration.  When I first tried to play a guitar it sounded horrible.  The strings buzzed and my fingers couldn’t find the right places quick enough.  But I stuck with it until it finally began to sound more like music than fingernails on a chalkboard.  Consider a skill that you’ve mastered.  It didn’t happen overnight, did it?  Persistence had to be exercised and instructions followed.  The same holds true for pursuing a close relationship with our heavenly Father.

I want to hear from you about what your quiet time looks like and how you stay in touch with God throughout the day.  Please comment below.  While there is no one right way, we can always pick up a few good tips from others who have taken the Lord up on this challenge and found it to be true:

“O taste and see that the Lord is good!”  Psalm 34:8