Day 59

I think that after today I am no longer going to post my titles as days, the days were meant to be part of the original 30 days but now I think original titles from here on out would have much more meaning. I have had a hard time the past week coping with things but tonight I went and hit and was able to clear my head. I know that is not the best way to take care of my mind but it does help and then when I settled down I started doing this so I think I will be able to get more out of my time with God rather than fuming the whole time. Looking back at a year with many ups and downs, I know this year has changed me so much from start to finish. I realized that I need to depend on myself and look to others for advice and sometimes i need to take it and other times I need to disregard it. People will disappoint and people will surprise you but you always have those you can rely on. Things will change everyday and situations will get better or worse but how we respond is what truly shows us who we are. As individuals we need to stop looking for who we are and ask God to reveal who we are to ourselves, then we can embrace ourselves and make the most of every opportunity. No matter what happens, he is always there and will help us through any tough time and will show us stuff we never knew was possible. Then he will show us stuff we do not want to see and we will make other plans for ourselves but in the end his ideas are so much better than ours and we have to make the most of it.

Today's devotional is called "Taking Time to Pray" and the text is found in Matthew 6:6 which states, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." Pretty much this is telling us that we need to make time available to God other than when it is convenient for ourselves and not when we feel like it is time to give God his due. I know that I find myself praying right before bed every night and I know it is not the best time to pray because I fall asleep most of the time mid prayer and I am not allowing God to speak to me. I have addressed this before but it is still sort of a problem and I know the change needs to be made. Giving God time to communicate with us is important because it is our time to grow  and his time to invest in us so that we can become who he wants us to be. All God asks of me is my best and if I cannot give him my best than what can I expect from him in return? My prayers cannot be answered if I am not listening. My walk cannot be complete without his guidance. My life cannot be complete without him. Distractions are Satan's unintentional way of keeping us away from God. The only reason I say unintentional is because we create and eliminate distractions and it is our choice as to whether to invest quality time or to give the bare minimum. Our prayer on this should be "I know I can pray when I ____ (drive, am falling asleep, eating, etc...) but there are too many distractions to make it my prayer room. My life includes time to spend with You. Show me when it is. " That will be my prayer and I hope you can make it yours. Corrie ten Boom "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" This means are you relying on prayer or are you just using it when you are in desperate need? Can you make God an everyday priority or is it just when all else fails and you know you have nowhere else to go? Sure he wants you to come to him regardless but it is much easier to do it from the start rather than to make up for it in the end.

I hope you are all having a great holiday season and that you all enjoy the last day of 2008. Follow your dreams for the next year and do not hold back because you could be missing the best time you have ever had. Let God be the steering wheel and just go along for the ride. He will take you to places you could never imagine and it all starts now. Have a good night and God Bless.

Joseph Robinson