Wandering Thoughts Part 1

Wandering Thoughts (Part 1)

This one was just too good to pass up. Do you have "prayer time ADD?" Do you find yourself sitting down to pray and all of a sudden you are no longer praying because your mind has wandered into other areas?

If so, (and I think the club is bigger than we think ...) Than this one is for you. It is from THE SEEKING HEART by Fenelon:

How do you deal with wandering thoughts and lack of enthusiasm during prayer? Set aside a regular time to be alone with God. Just be content to yield yourself without reserve to God. Don't go out looking for the cross, but when the cross comes (and it will), do not let God's work pass without letting the trials become fruitful to you.

Accept, despite your natural reservations, all that God brings to you to exercise your faith. Don't worry about whether you will have the strength to do the right thing. Grace comes only in the moment that you need it. Just be willing to receive your trials with a cheerful heart.

When you see your thoughts wandering, call yourself back to the present moment, but do not struggle with your thoughts. Just stay in the present and you will soon notice your Lord by your side again. The more you turn back to Him just as you sense yourself wandering, the sooner you will have the blessing of knowing the indwelling presence of Christ in a more constant and familiar way.

When you are completely given to God, all that you do is profitable, even if you don't do much. Offer your future up to God, and don't try to figure out what will happen to you. It shows your faithfulness when you want to know the future that God has chosen to conceal from all of us.

Leave your future to God. The best preparation is to die to self-will and give yourself wholly to God. Your spirit will grow as you become less weighed down by your self-nature. You get used to a life full of stride and endless labor and think this is normal. You will be surprised to see how simple and straightforward your life in God is ..."

Practical insight from a man who had a deep walk with God over 400 years ago. I will share part 2 on Monday. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's Word for YOU: Proverbs 31; Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

Great Quote: The manna of one day was corrupt when the next day came. I must every day have fresh grace from heaven, and I obtain it only in direct waiting upon God Himself. Begin each day by tarrying before God, and letting Him touch you. Andrew Murray