"Early to bed and early to rise..."
What have I learned today from my Lenten prayer journey? It's not as spiritual as you might think.
Following Jesus will cost you something - the Bible says it will cost you your very life - to die to self, to die to sin, to die to my own will and my own agenda and embrace his life as my own. We are familiar with this sort of language in the church and as a pastor I have used this language to exhort and encourage the saints on many occasions. Speaking in generalities is helpful to an extent - but the question I need to be asking myself is "what specifically, tangibly, is following Jesus costing me?"
Peter and Andrew left their nets, James and John left a family business, Levi left his tax collector's booth. Following Jesus cost Stephen and many who followed in his example their lives - and following this Lenten discipline of praying the hours is costing me...
...Wait for it...
...My evenings.
Getting up early enough to be alert for my 6:30am morning prayers is catching up to me. As I'm writing this blog to fulfil my daily commitment at 8:54pm I'm struggling to stay awake. So I'm going to call it a night and head to bed. Prayer has cost me the ability to stay up late and enjoy the night.
It's probably worth it. It's hard to say that with deep conviction right now, but I promise you that tomorrow morning when I am spending time with God my emotions will match my convictions.
I told you it wasn't that spiritual. :)
Goodnight.
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