Be Alert

Colossians 4:2 - Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

When we are praying, we need to keep our mind alert and focused on God so that we can hear Him speaking to us, and keep our hearts humble and thankful.

This can be a tough one sometimes.  It is very easy to be distracted by things going on around us when we are praying.  It can also be very difficult to keep our hearts focused if we have a lot going on.  I have struggled with this a lot recently.  But that is exactly what the enemy wants - anything to keep our attention solely focused on our Savior.

For someone like me who has their Quiet Time in the mornings (usually after a cup or two of coffee), sometimes I can be just plain tired despite the coffee's effects.  During a recent 40 day fast, I gave up coffee.  Now that just added to my struggles to be alert.  However, during the last couple of weeks, I was less groggy despite having no coffee.  It's easy to dismiss that as my body adjusting to not having it, but I am convinced it was God working in me and telling me that I didn't need the coffee to wake up, I only needed to focus on Him and He would take care of the rest as He always does.

During my recent conflicts at work, I found myself praying even more than usual.  Jesus told us to get rid of the log in our eye before we worry about the speck in someone else's (Matthew 7:5).  He also told us to forgive others or God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15).  With the issues I have had with the way my boss has treated me and some other coworkers, it is difficult to do that.  However, I have to keep my heart humble and thankful towards God and the first place to start is through forgiveness of others, and let Him work.

I love the way God works.

Dear Abba Father, thank You for showing me what I needed to see during these last 6 weeks.  You are always faithful in Your teachings through Your Word and Spirit, and I pray that I will keep my mind and heart alert, focused, and thankful for what You do for me.  I pray for those that get distracted and can't seem to focus on You when they need to.  My prayer is that they will not let the enemy get a foothold in their hearts and minds, and be humble and thankful for all that You provide.  In Jesus' name, Amen!



God Bless!!!