Do you ever struggle to concentrate when you worship God? What about when you pray? Do things enter your mind that have no business there? Are there times in your life when your prayer-life is so weak you wonder if you’re even worth a minute of God’s time? Does this scripture cause you to recoil? “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 15:8-9) Today, I’m writing to give you hope. Worship; prayer; keeping one’s thoughts pure; these things are difficult for every Christian from time-to-time. With work, however, things do get better. Just like a muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets. The more you focus on prayer, the stronger your relationship with Jesus gets. The more you resist the devil’s attempts to get you off-track, the better you get at resisting and the stronger your faith gets. I like to recite pieces of scripture quietly to myself whenever I find my mind wondering, or when I’m having difficulty concentrating on God during worship. I highly recommend it. Either way, there IS hope. Remember, you are not the only person who struggles in these areas. Just keep working the muscles–you’ll see the growth.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. ” 1 Corinthians 10:13 In Christ, PastorJimKilby @Kilbin8er Jim@JamesKilby.com