Hopefully after yesterday's post, today's quiet time is a bit more real... impactful... honest.

What's funny about Quiet Times is that we know that it's CRUCIAL to not only have them, but it must happen if we are to be close to Him. And yet, what time do we go to bed? We need to get to bed early because we need to get up early to give our first moments of that day over to God. But the only way we can make this a habit is thru actual effort! The NIV version uses the words "as usual" but I like the Amplified version better for this case:

Jesus knew how important it was to spend time with God, that it was His habit. If we are His disciples, shouldn't we be doing what Jesus does? Have the same habits as Him? Living our lives as His testimonies?

But when you think about it, this is also not about just our mornings, but what we do throughout our day. Starting your day off with God is awesome because it dictates our day, prepares us for what lies ahead... but we should carry that devotion to Him throughout the day. During your lunch, take a prayer walk.

We also know our weaknesses - We know where we are weak. Don't wait until the bullets start flying around you to start praying - pray ahead of time to either avoid or have God's strength to deal with temptation. Pray about your weaknesses all of the time! If you struggle with feeling sorry for yourself, if you spend money that you don't have, if your mouth can let out hurtful words if you're not careful, whatever your struggles or weaknesses are... you need to pray about this ahead of time. Jesus prayed that He would not come into temptation.

Let's face something - We all know about ourselves, we know our strengths but more importantly, our weaknesses. But it's because of God that we're aware of this. We know what gets us in trouble, and yet we don't live our lives being afraid of ourselves! When we are afraid of ourselves, then we know our limitations and our need for God.

We need to wake up and take action, make decisions - I'm going to wake up and have my quiet time with God, I'm going to pray to God throughout the day, and not only when i'm in need, I'm going to get up early to get right with God because it will direct my day, ... I will put on the armor of God. I will take up the shield of faith. We need to make a decision to enjoy the day that God has given us.

We need to tell the devil who is our joy-thief:

"I will enjoy today"

No matter what happens today, I will remain peaceful, I will love and forgive... And I want that so badly, that I will pray about it all of the time because the "real me" doesn't want that. It is by God's grace that I have seen what God wants for me, and how much better it is to what I want for myself. Every morning we need to confess the Word of God out loud.