Over the past few months, I've noticed that the more effort I make to purposefully pray in the spirit and read the word of God, the enemy targets my mind like I have a bullseye on it. His goal is to distract me from revelation God wants to impart to me. He wants my focus and attention to stray from God and miss the time of intimate fellowship with my father.
As soon I go into prayer, I begin to remember things I forgot to complete, or I remember what I need to do later, or a phone call I need to make and so on. My mind races with things I need to do and attempts to robs me of my focus. Can any of you relate to this?
I know some people struggle with getting sleepy as soon as they open their Bible. These things are challenges we must aspire to overcome to really dig deeper into God. We can’t keep saying we want more of God and not make the effort to press harder into his presence
I find that I frequently need to change my schedule to fit around what God wants and what I know will discipline me to make God my priority. My big sister in the faith, recently, encouraged me to guard and war over my mind with the word of the Lord. It was then that I realized this area needed more of my care and attention.
In this new year I know my schedule must be God first but knowing and doing are two different things. I normally hit the bed about 11pm and don’t fall asleep until about 12/1 o’clock in the morning. Going to bed this late hinders me from rising early to start my day off in peace and perspective.
The cycle begins: I oversleep, experience condemnation for the rough start to my day, try to redeem it but by noon I’m too far behind and just end up winging it. If you and I want unhealthy habits to change and be destroyed, we must have self-control to change our daily patterns and habits. This whole song and dance robs me of peace mind and focus.
I want us to dig into what the word says about our mind, how to guard it and how to keep it stayed on Christ. You and I can no longer miss out on quality time with God. I want to be the one he reveals his mysteries to. Do you want to e that person too? I want to know what prayer strategy to pray over my family, the universal church, and this land. The only way to get this is to hear from God clearly. The return of Christ is so near. Let us redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16) before it’s too late.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT - You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Our mind should be focused, attentive and engrossed in what the Lord wants. I find when my mind is stayed on the Lord, he keeps me in perfect peace. When I am focused on the Lord, I am productive. Those of us who are ambitious must prioritize and make sure we are doing what God wants, when he wants it and how he wants it. This keeps us at peace. It's way too easy for me to do my own thing and slap God's name on it. Often its only when frustration has set in and is full throttle that I realize my peace is gone and I've drifted from his plan.
If you and I want to maintain peace we must keep our mind trusting in the Lord and not our ability to do things. God has gifted us, but the gift must be surrendered back to him and we are to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us to please God with our tasks. A way we can do this is to ask God if we can do what we are trying to do. I’ve heard so many sermons about seeking God before you do things but do we actually do this? Are we, with our bad habits, the reason why our minds wonder and are unstable? Are we really trusting the Lord or are we trusting in our ability?
One of the prayer points I pray over my kids, is to that they lead uncluttered lives. Is this even possible in 2022? The very thing I pray over my children is something I must pray over myself as well. Clutter and being too busy will also rob us of our peace. My mind can become so cluttered that when I go into prayer the clutter comes with me and becomes a distraction.
My mind is always running. What the Lord has been showing me is that before I can actually get into the presence of the Lord I have to empty out. I have to let go of the cares of this life, my lists, and anything that comes to steal my focus.
Colossians 3:2 KJV Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
It’s easy to worry about bills, marriage issues or being single. Why is it so hard to set our mind on things above and keep it there? In a prayer class I attended, Apostle Joshua Smith, he introduced me to the concept of “lift it and leave it.” Lift the request up to the Lord in prayer and leave it there. Don’t pick it back up after you leave the prayer closet. If you do, lift it and leave it again and again until it stays. Worry is sin and robs us of the peace and joy the Lord desires for us to have. Worrying has never solved one problem, ask me how I know. But it does cause depression, comparison, and discontentment.
Philippians 4:6-7 CEV- Don’t worry about anything but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
We need this kind of peace! I love this verse! He is telling us that when we refuse worry, embrace prayer, and give thanks we will be filled with peace and this peace will control our thoughts! Everything we need is inside of the Word of God! Prayer is the battle ground where we release our burdens to the Lord and exchange them for his peace in our minds.