Freedom

Link: Core Values
Focus: Prayer (7/7)
Day: 15/95
Pathway summary: Being faith-filled, fervent, continual, and heartfelt in my expressions, petitions, and supplications to God.
Justification: (2 Timothy 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 6:5-13; Mark 9:23)
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Setup:

What is "just enough" prayer? What is the impact of praying as frequently as is feasible?

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Prep:

I recognized, of the studies in this journey so far, that compared to studying the bible, prayer (for me) is a much more difficult to thing to do regularly. Every post for this focus section has been late - so definitely something to work on.

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Execution:

I started with prayer and asked for guidance - recognizing I need Him to pray properly ... and also to complete this arc addressing the same.
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Day 15 Conclusions / Thoughts

The whole "just enough" is always a trap - much like any earnest relationship anyone is ever in, choosing to be guided by a "tit-for-tat" (or zero-sum) perspective will always falter in the end - this is because life is messy and we're talking about relationships between real people.

In other words, if you DO have a zero-sum perspective in a non-business relationship that is based on presumption of intimacy, you're probably not trying hard enough.

Flipping it, however, bears massive amounts of fruit. If you, instead, function from the perspective that you haven't prayed enough (and choose/fight to not be motivated by fear of this fact), you will err nicely on the side of sufficiency - which is to say, actually live out the "pray without ceasing."

And that's my take-away for prayer.  It is a perpetual font of opportunity to connect with God, it provides a tool to work through literally any dilemma, a means of productively investing in those people and enterprises you care about, and provides an earnest way to connect with the body of Christ in a discrete and intimate way.

My caution to you is to not take it for granted.

And prayer is so very, very easy to take for granted.  In fact, of the twelve core foci of the core values, it is the most easy to take for granted - because it requires no travel, no material commitment, and no tools. It believe it was designed with the intent that ANYONE can talk to God.

And God, so accessible and loving, is, as a result, easy to take for granted.

But not YOU. You are reading these words. You see the value of intimacy. And YOU realize that prayer should NEVER be taken for granted - especially because God has designed it to be accessed and used with a terribly low bar.

Maybe put God into perspective. Isaiah speaks about visiting God and having unclean lips (which are then quickly cleaned by an angel). The unview-able, unknowable, unthinkable creator of the universe is so worthy of our praise, our worship, our respect - and this is the same fellow who is offering us the opportunity to pray.

So ...

Pray in earnest - share on what you think and share your fears.

Pray in truth - do your best not to like about causes but speak from need and love

Pray in intimacy - do not hold things back from Him

But

Pray with reverence - He literally made you. He is worthy of worship

Pray with faith - He laid the groundwork for faith with his life.  Do not deny it.


Pray, in all things, about all events, for all people, giving everything to Him.

Perhaps on your knees.

But pray.

P.S. This post is entitled Freedom because there is freedom in praying without ceasing - you can trust God is actively involved in your life. You don't have to worry about praying for this but not that - and you can earnestly sink-your-teeth into the presumption that He is in control.

Restraint

Link: Core Values
Focus: Holy Scripture (5/7)
Day: 05/95
Pathway summary: Study of the Word of God with expectation of Holy Spirit inspired revelation.
Justification: (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 119; John 16:7-15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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Setup:

Continuing the Bible study on Love.  I am reminded that one of the most powerful aspects to Love is staying power, perseverance, and the priceless gift known as restraint.

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Prep:

Today's love-theme is restraint.  Or re-strained, to be tested again and again and not falter.

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Execution:

I started off with prayer; I am again mining 1 Corinthians 13:11 - it really is full of huge aspects of Love and provides answers to most of the questions I have personally experienced or seen/read about Love.

And, much like so many things, God is teaching me about this aspect of Love through His touch and things I'm already doing. This journal is an example, for me, of doing something in spite of obligations, weariness, or anything else - to continue pushing to see it through and existent.

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Day 5 Conclusions / Thoughts

Resilience, perseverance, patience - these aspects of Love are so fundamentally true and associated with the recognition of Love that we may sometimes identify how mature, or how much a Christian, a person is by how much they show Love to others when nobody is looking.

The word "restrain" puts me in the way of thinking of myself (and everyone else) as a cup of tea. The purpose of straining, straining again, and continuing to strain each of us is, like so many other things, intended to Give God the glory.  To strain tea, then again, and again, then again .... and suddenly you weren't paying attention to the lesson but you wind up leaving behind something precious and starting up again. But you are still encouraged by Christ to learn the lesson again.

Phonetically it reminds me of humility - the word "re - str - aint" can be rearranged to "re - aint - str" - which looks like "we ain't strong". Which is again, like God, to take stuff we know for granted and either teach us a new lesson with the existing materials or surprise us with opportunities to display how we've grown.  Life, then, is a complicated repeat of the same one, two, or dozen lessons that we each need to master. And, in the same way we cannot beat the odds by ourselves, we need another to even sit at the table.

Another interesting breakdown of the word is to break it on syllabification - between rest and rain. It is a reminder that "it can't rain all the time" and that being mindful of the need to rest and handle suffering/difficulty is a reminder that even God needed a chance to unwind / be away from the throngs that simply wanted to hear his voice, to touch his cloak.

Ultimately, restraint's purpose is not inconvenience - it's a reminder of our need for humility a huge hint as to how we can draw the attention of Love and not lose it.  Such an acting evidence of Love will change those involved - and draw others to Christ.

Seeking

Link: Core Values
Focus: Holy Scripture (1/7)
Day: 01/95
Pathway summary: Study of the Word of God with expectation of Holy Spirit inspired revelation.
Justification: (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 119; John 16:7-15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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Setup:
Considering the topic, it would seem to be prudent to have a bible study curriculum of some kind; starting off I have none.  As my ultimate goal is to be a better Christian (and with the immediate application of being a better husband, a better father, a better son, etc.), I elect to learn what the Bible says about love.  I suspect I have glossed over much of what the bible says ... so I shall review it, pray on it, and (as stated above) expect the Holy Spirit to reveal something.
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Prep:
A quick web search on Bible studies on love reveals that more people have written more on this one subject than I anticipated.  Not surprising - as love is earnestly hard to master.  We are counseled to love God with all of ourselves. And we are told that Jesus IS love.  It thus, must be worth the study.

I'm also sticking with 1 Corinthians 13 - unless I feel guided to meander.  Cause I'm tryin' to grow - I earnestly want to be open to what the Holy Spirit has for me

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Execution:
I began by praying, asking for revelation, clarity, focus.  I recorded my thoughts, notes, and conclusions in a separate paper notebook. Today's Bible study revealed some things about 1 Corinthians 13. In particular, the first three versus focus on motive.

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Day 1 Conclusions / Thoughts

I know I personally tend to spend most of my time/energy doing the following: talking/singing/making music, knowing/thinking/praying, sacrificing/donating. In essence, no matter what you're doing, if your fundamental motives are not based on love, you will not last, nor will your works matter, nor will your voice/value endure. Our culture values all of these things - we have shows centered around how pretty someone sounds. how smart they appear, how reliable they are, how able they are to foretell (using mysticism or mathematics), how generous someone is - etc.

Ironically, we all know that anyone who isn't motivated by love is functionally doing for the wrong reason; however, it is easy to forget that in the moment ... especially if you're the one acting.  How easy it is to be engaged in an activity that seems to be helpful but ... we're motivated by wanting to be elsewhere, or attracted to someone (physically or emotionally or otherwise), or waiting our turn to talk (instead of just listening), or donating goods and clothes for the tax write-off or simply for de-cluttering.

I suspect it is easy to over-apply this lesson ... and I recall I am notorious for taking an initial, fundamental realization/revelation and applying it WAY too generously. So I will leave for now - save for one earnest acknowledgement. It is so great that God still wants to talk to me. I ... don't *feel* closer just yet ... but I fully acknowledge that the revelations from today's study were from Him.  So, so grateful that He still wants to talk to me. <3