This is the third of a series of posts finding the wisdom for living life well through the words of Oswald Chambers. If you missed part 1 or part 2, I hope you’ll go take a read. Part three can be found here.
If you waste your time in over-activity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him (Eph 3), which may appear impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens. (Oct 19)
If we can overcome this hurdle, then we can be a vessel to honor that God can and will use. He’ll use us because He trusts us through the relationship that we have built together. Isn’t that cool!! But getting to that position only comes through our time together with Him in prayer.
“But praying is hard.” True enough, at the onset. It is not easy, because, though we understand the relationship part, it seems as if we are talking to ourselves. There, mentally, we must overcome the lie of the enemy. God is there listening and He will communicate with us if we will listen. Through a still soft voice heard in our minds, through the richness of His word, through the church and through other believers, He will speak. And know that praying is a task. An enjoyable one, but a task all the same that requires diligence and determination.
Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work, but it is the laboring person who makes the ideas of the genius possible. And it is the laboring saint (in prayer) who makes the ideas of the Master possible. When you labor in prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. (Oct 17)
So what does it all mean? Devote yourself to the Father. If you want to be a successful missionary (a disciple on mission), then only the time spent with Him in relationship building can accomplish that end. If you want to be able to stay in step with Him, continue in prayer. If you wish to be able to discern His plan, continue to be in the “lonely place” with Him. If you wish to stay consistent during the rough waters of life, pray. Everything else builds off your time with Him, your devotion to Him, your “hangin’ out with God.”
The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. (Oct 18)
The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Oct 18)
If the church today is ever to move as a mighty rushing wind across the world today, our efforts must not be consumed with how much money we raise or how many people we train, but in how many believers are praying. As you seek to Live Well in this crazy, rapidly changing world, prayer may be the only sane thing for anyone to do.