" For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning " (Luke 12:34-35).
I was having my quiet time and i came across the above passage and i put some thought into it. I once heard a preacher say that smoke is not a certainty of a burning fire. Many Christians are choked with smoke and have also choked others around them with smoke but never realise that they have burnt out a long time ago. Only time will eventually show the real state of our altars.
One major altar we MUST keep fire on always is the prayer altar!. The priests in the old testament were instructed never to allow the fire on the altar to go out. When God was trying to explain more clearly the spiritual state at the time of Eli, the bible said the following words....."And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was,...." (ISam3:1-4).
The Bible also described the testimony that Jesus bore witness to the life of John the baptist by saying... " He was a BURNING and a shining light:"..... John5:35.
We all know these scriptures well at heart. But maybe there are some of us just like me attimes that struggle in the place of prayer. Seeking that the heavenly fire will baptise us afresh. We must have tasted the experience before but how many of us are still under that cloud? Experiencing a fresh touch on a regular basis as we come to the spiritual altars?
I guess we can share together some quiet time secrets as it pertaineth to us individually. I came up with some points that has helped me for awhile now and i have listed below:
1. SET AN ALARM
For some super-humanly programmed people, they are wired to the tick-tock time in their systems and wake up at early hours of the day without help. But for some of us who can't, lets stick to the little alarm bells on our clock or even on our phones to help us keep to time, say 4/5am or so. It's not so encouraging speaking in tongues in the shower or do some of the funny things we do daily in the name of prayer cos we fail to wake early and fellowship with the master.
2. WATCH YOUR DIET
Heavy meals helps us to sleep better but they also prevent the early wakings. They further make us more tired waking up in the mornings and most times prolongs our sleep. Learn to eat light at nights if you plan to wake early. I feel those who skip breakfast should rather skip dinners. Eba and pounded yams with ogbono soup for some is a sleeping tablet while some can still do with them and run 5miles in the morning. But for me i think light foods does it.
3. GO TO BED ON TIME
I have been a victim of this of late. Working on my laptop and sleeping off very late. Or maybe u got a new movie you need to watch and you keep late nights or whatever. It all makes one tired of early rising. Ask yourself a sincere question, what has been keeping me up late at nights? We must try and finish up left over jobs early or better still don't come home with them. Some also browse untill google will decide to shut them off secretly or their internet modems will refuse to work before they can jolt out of website coma. Whats your own story?
4. CHECK YOUR POSITION
Whenever i succeed waking up in the mornings, i first try and sit down. Pls for most of us who do not, get a chair into your bedrooms. Try first of all sitting straight up. Your posture has a way of driving residual sleep away from your eyes slowly. Also, if those around you wont mind, try and switch off the AC or any cooling system you have around you. You sleep better with a cold sensation around you than in a hot atmosphere. For our brothers who are on outstation jobs and always lodge in hotels with high powered AC rooms, pls learn to switch them off when you are awake. but if you can do with it, its your call. Enjoy!
5. BE FLEXIBLE
Flexibility with time and methods go a long way to help us. For hypo-spiritual brethren, 2hours is just a start. So if they wake up any time after 4am they are late. But for small people like us, we try to be a bit flexible to time. If i pray for 15mins and am excited and sure i touched heaven, i am good. I mustn't feel less spritual cos i couldnt do an hour. Maybe 2moro i will but for today am happy for myself that i can come b4 him even its just for 5mins. You can be sure of that. So when you look at your time and its 5:50am, do the 10mins with joy and get ready for work.
Your methods are also very essential. Some will start off all guns blazing blasting in tongues while some will just mutter the name of Jesus and power will come down. Some will only sing a verse and they are in heaven already but some a verse in the psalms will do.
For me, i have some specific songs that help and sometimes the HolySpirit puts songs in my mouth. Example of a good song i sing is written below:
...." to keep your lovely face, ever before my eyes,
this is my prayer, Lord make it my strong desire....,
that in my secret heart, no other love competes,
no idol throne survives,
and i SERVE ONLY U"...
Some stand, some kneel, some sit, some pace around etc, whatever method you apply must be original with you and not copied from a loudmouthed pastor who only did a quiet time 36days ago. Be original in your methods.
6. MEAN IT
You must mean it. By this i mean you should take steps to take that moment serious. You cant be reading your quiet time passage and also be peeping into the TV to catch the early news on CNN. You must learn to secure yourself by avoiding distractions. Example of distractions are switching on your phones while praying cos your expecting an urgent sms, wathcing your baby and making sure she's covered well and not even one mosquito should touch her so u stand as her defender. Your mind will indeed be distracted. open laptops needs to shut down and closed so as not to remember an unfinished business of the other nite. Open blinds or windows/doors should be closed.Jesus had to depart himself to pray (Mk6:46). You never know when your looking outside your window, your eyes will see something else ( you can ask King david after). When Jesus said in Matt6:6 that when you pray, enter into thine closet and shut thy door,.... am very sure He means SECURE THYSELF FROM DISTRACTIONS.
7. BE DILIGENT ON SOME DEVOTIONAL
Daily guide, Everyday with Jesus, Open heavens, Heart to Heart, Morning dews etc whichever you love using was compiled cos of quiet times. Dont feel that once you open anywhere just by guessing you will find revelation, it doesnt work that way. Learn to be diligent to read. Some just skim or vab or do whatever but never read or remember anything they read in the morning. Pls you're not a religious know-it-all. Even if you can quote a thousand verses by heart, pls be humble enough to read through a guide and mind the keynotes, points, prayer meditaions etc. It does help. Forcing yourself on the Book of Eziekel to finish it by all means even though u find it boring may not help. BE GUIDED.
8. DON'T WORRY
If after you do all the above, you still find yourself sleeping off, DONT WORRY. take solace in the fact that your able to keep your appointment time with God but determine to do better next time. Yes, peter slept at the Garden of gethsemane (Matt26:36-46), The master still chose him to be the leader after he left. One thing that struck me in those verses were that after they have slept heavily at the time of urgent prayers, when Jesus came back the 3rd time.....he said in verse 46 the following words...." RISE, let US be going:....."
The master will always whisper the word "RISE" to your spirit man and also "LET US" meaning we are in this together, i am not condemning you or avoiding you but let us. He will also say..."BE GOING" Never give up. Keep at it untill there's a fruition. (Matt26:41). I see a Christian reading this article now that will burst into holy flames and be engulfed with the Holy Spirit fire that will herald a blazing altar from now onwards....
You will make it in Jesus' name.
Jesus Loves you!
Let us pray.
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