Dec 16, 2010
Dear Jesus, I’ll Pray After I Check Twitter
A few days ago I had about twenty minutes to spare before running off to an appointment. I sensed a gentle nudge to sit quietly before God to pray and to just make myself available to him.
And then I thought, well, twenty minutes is a pretty big chunk of time. I’ll just go on Twitter to see what’s happening, and then I’ll sit to pray.
I read through the latest stream of updates, and then I noticed an interesting article. Without even thinking about it, I clicked it.
After reading the article, I obviously had to leave a comment.
After hitting the submit button for my comment, I checked the time. I had five minutes.
Shoot.
We can always justify doing one more thing, but when I look back at that moment, I essentially squandered a chance to love God with all of my strength and to seek his Kingdom first. It was a good blog post, but I once heard someone say that the good is sometimes the enemy of the best.
Did reading that blog post and leaving a comment actually move me closer toward the most important objectives in my life? Probably not. While we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over our to-do lists, there is something to be said for hearing God’s voice and responding with quiet time before him.
Sometimes we need to just stop.
We can always add another chore to the list during the holiday season. However, are we leaving space for God and letting him rise to the top of our priority lists?
Lately, God has been claiming my time in the car. It has been really great. I’ve had some refreshing moments of prayer and meditation while driving that I would have missed if I’d had the radio on. Nevertheless, when God wanted to move in my time at home, I found reasons to distract myself.
It’s a process. It’s a relationship. There will come times when we lose sight of what’s most important. Thankfully God is passionate for his people, and he is patient with us. I’m blown away that he sticks with us.
As our schedules fill up during the holidays, may we find the time to stick with him and to enjoy the love he has for us.
For more posts about finding Jesus during the Christmas season, drop by Bonnie Gray’s Faith Barista Blog.
I love this post. While we need to just stop sometimes, and devote time to seeking God, we can also be prayerful and Kingdom-focused about everything, even checking Twitter. It’s not something I do naturally, but I want to pray without ceasing, by hearing and seeking God everywhere, both off- and online. Wishing you Advent hope, Ed.
Thanks for this post today. Prayer is something that I have struggled with for awhile, though I am getting better about it. Every reminder that I need to spend more time with God is needed.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by edcyzewski, chadcrawford and Ben Sternke, JD Eddins. JD Eddins said: RT @edcyzewski: New blog post: Dear Jesus, I'll Pray After I Check Twitter: http://bit.ly/go4K7R. [...]
Guilty! I’ve done that so many times. Thanks for the gentle reminder to STOP doing that and start putting my time with God first. Signing off…
Gosh, between your post and this one I read today (http://jonathanpearson.net/2010/10/silence-is-deadly) – I think God’s trying to tell me something. Great post, as always, Ed.
Stop.looking.in.my.house.
( and thanks for this very recognizable post. You describe my non-actions as well.)
It’s a real discipline to stop. When I fight the itch by thinking of manna. “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.” Too much in fact will spoil. This has been a touch point verse that I return to again and again… which I need to! But, God proves time and again, He can do much with my little.
I love this bold brew, Ed! So glad you wrote it and happier more so because you put it in the jam!
Thank You so much. This is true and awesome. Making my keyboard an altar like Ann Voskamp teaches has really helped. Still, there days of effort to be with Jesus before the “stuff”. Thanks for sharing this.
Being still is such a struggle for me most of the time. When I learned I’d ruptured my Achilles tendon and had 6 weeks post op to not use my left leg, I thought, “This is it! I can journal. I can read my Bible. I can listen to God.” Yeah . . . somehow I’ve managed to do a whole lot of other things so far. Maybe in the next few weeks.
Thanks for relating your struggle and holding up the mirror so I can see my similar one.
I’m not sure what it is, my sinful flesh I suppose? But as soon as life is still, as soon as I discover a few minutes unfilled with anything, I immediately get desperate to fill it with something. Like something inside is afraid of the still. A friend of mine says when she feels this, she believe it is her flesh running from the conviction of God and she needs to fight against it with everything she has, and hear that conviction. It’s very real, and very difficult to overcome.
I can totally relate to that! I’m glad I’m not alone.
Ouch! Those are my toes you’re stepping on!
Great reminder.
Time for me to unplug.
God Bless you, brother.
That title caught my attention. LOL.
It’s so true.