An Hour is Not Enough

The Lord Jesus once asked His slumbering disciples, “Could you not watch with me for an hour?“ And for 30 years of my walk with the Savior, I wondered how anyone could spend an hour watching in prayer. I got distracted within the first five minutes. And then I discovered a way to grow in my intimacy with Christ. I call it the “Worship-Word-CROSS” Hour.

Here’s a brief synopsis of what I do:

1. I snap a worship CD into the player, stick earphones into my ears and listen to songs which address the Lord as “You” (instead of ”He”). For example, I chose lyrics along the lines of, “You are wonderful and glorified,” instead of “He is wonderful and glorified.” When lyrics are in the second person instead of the third, I can more readily sing in my mind the lyrics as my prayers.

2. Next, I read two chapters of Scripture. I keep a journal handy so if the Holy Spirit gives me insight about a particular verse I can write it down. Two chapters of Scripture in the morning and two at night will bring you through the Bible in a year. Because the NT is shorter than the OT, four chapters a day gets me through the NT three times each year and the OT once.

3. I spend the next 20-30 minutes in prayer. I developed an acrostic --CROSS -- to get me back on track when I get distracted:

C—I meditate a few minutes on the crucifixion. For example, what did the cross accomplished for me? How did my sins cause His agony and death?

R—I meditate on the resurrection. Again, for example, how does the empty tomb validate Christ’s message? What promise does His resurrection hold for me, when I die?

O—I meditate on the “Our Father” (the Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6). I pause at each verse, sometimes each word or sentence. What does “Our Father” mean? Who are my brothers and sisters? My thoughts take me across the world, to places such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Iran where Christians are persecuted, raped, tortured, imprisoned for no other reason than their faith in Christ. What can I do for them?

“Hallowed (sacred) is thy name” – Have I forgotten the holiness of God and His name? Do I misuse His name? Do I live in such as way as to give unbelievers reason to sneer at His name?

I move through the rest of the prayer in similar fashion.

S—is for supplication. Here I pray for others . . . family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, politicians . . . whoever the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

S—is for sacrifice. I offer myself as a living sacrifice. I ask Him to take my memory, my freedom, will, understanding, health, wealth, talents -- everything I have and cherish -- and to use them for His honor.

Sometimes I vary my time in prayer by reading a psalm or two, meditating on the words and verses of prayers David and others wrote millennia ago. Sometimes I read the prayers of saints of the church, such as Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola, Brother Lawrence and A. W. Tozer.

Since I started using this pattern more than a year ago, the Holy Spirit uses song, scripture and prayer to draw me deeper into the arms of Jesus. I often discover an hour is not enough.

Determine to set aside your own hour for song, scripture and prayer. Persevere in your plan to seek intimacy with Christ. When He woos you to Himself, you also will discover an hour is not enough.

Rich
Rnmaffeo@aol.com