Radical Prayer: A 133,000 Percent Return on Investment
In a recent message, I said I prayed for over 7,000 years since about 1993.
My family pointed it out after the service. Would've been a good place for my daughter to yell out, "What in the world are you talking about?!?!?! That's crazy!"
Past Life Regressions?
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Some may have wondered, "What kind of church is this? Some New Age thing? Maybe he's done some past life regressions and found he was Noah and King Tut and Moses and thinks he's prayed for 7,000 years?"
No. That would be insane.
I meant, "over 7,000 hours." And upon reflection, just to be conservative, I'd say I've definitely prayed 4,000 hours since 1993, maybe as many as 7,000.
Why So Many Hours?
One Saturday night in or around 1993, I read a book on prayer straight through in about three hours. Then I did something I'd never done before. Ever. I prayed for an hour straight. 15 minutes was probably my longest up to that point. Got up the next morning-did it again.
In fact, that three-hour investment changed my life. Since that time, it's been my practice to pray for an hour a day, and I calculated that would add up to at least 4,000 hours (maybe as many as 7,000) that I have spent with my Heavenly Father! I've not been 100 percent, but it has become my personal standard, and I feel like it's part of my calling as a pastor. Three hours reading turned into 4,000 hours with my heavenly Father is a return on investment (ROI) of:
133,233 percent!!! That's called a "home run."
My message was on, "Raising your standards." Changing some "shoulds" to "musts."
Because of a book, I read in the early 90s, an hour of prayer changed from:
"as a man going into ministry, I SHOULD pray for an hour a day," to:
"as a man going into ministry, I MUST pray an hour a day."
God raised my standard. I've never been the same.
God raised my standard and changed me because of something I poured into my mind one evening.
That's why I hate to miss church! That's why I read His Word! That's why I listen to excellent stuff about Him! I want to pour things into this fantastic God-designed computer in my head that will allow Him to raise my standards and take me where He wants me to go.
I invested three hours reading, and my return was over 4,000 hours of talking to my heavenly Father. That's a fantastic return on my investment.
What are you pouring into your mind?
I've found that to pour good things into my mind in a negative world, I've got be deliberate, determined, and with all the garbage out there, discriminating. If I do that, there is no limit to what God will deliver into my life through the mind He created.
Raise your standards. Change your shoulds to musts. And watch God move your forward over the next year.
Amen, amen!
Orginally posted at I Like My Coffee Black.
