Psalm 44:8 NLT
'O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.'
For years I had my quiet time in the morning, then headed into the day without considering where God was. It was as though my early morning prayer and scripture reading was a talisman to see me through the day. I neglected to consider what friendship with God meant in my daily rhythm of living. St Paul reminds us that we are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV). In other words, whatever we are doing and wherever we find ourselves, we are to be conscious of and talk to God. This is quite some discipline.
If I am to become conscious of God throughout every moment of each day, I must wake up to the reality of God’s presence with me. Life’s pressures and the reality of my immediate surroundings will always dull my senses to the presence of Jesus. I need to discover how to perceive God in every circumstance. This is an acquired skill, essential to effective Christian living.
Once I am aware of God, I have the choice to take hold of God’s perception alongside my own instinctive reaction. This impacts my inner mood and outward behaviour in a positive way. I exercise personal choice. In those moments of quiet observation, I find the space to consider God, to pray and entrust my way into his hands. I impact life. I’m not driven by the immediacy of its effects on me. I carry my prayer beyond my quiet time into the challenges of everyday living.
QUESTION: How conscious are you of God throughout your day? Work to build on these steps of wakefulness, perception, attentiveness, and observation so that you might be empowered to exercise God’s fruit of self-control (Galatians 5:23) and make great choices.
PRAYER: Help me so that from my first to last thought each day, you are central to my life and being.

Released on 22 Apr 2020