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A Call to Stand Apart
God is not asking us to become hermits or monks and retire from
the world. He is calling us to live like Jesus, and to alternate between
“the mountain of isolation and peace” and the crowds where we live
and study and work each day. A person who does nothing but pray
will soon stop praying meaningfully.
If we were to talk to God every time He showed His care for us,
we would hardly stop talking to Him in prayer all day! We talk about
our own lives with our friends because that’s where our interests lie.
We talk about our friends because we love them. Well, we have an
infinitely greater reason to love God than to love our friends, so it
should be the most natural thing in the world to make Him first in
our thoughts, to talk of His goodness, and to share with others His
power in our lives.
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Our devotional time should not be only about asking. When we
pray, we need to take time to express our thanks for the way God
has led and blessed us. God is like a most tender, merciful Father.
For that reason, serving Him should never be thought of as a dreary,
distressing duty. It needs to become our pleasure and inspiration.
In your personal prayer time, think about His cross, His love, His
sacrifice, and then you will begin to express your thanks and praise
for His magnificent gift for you. You will know that Jesus loves and
cares for you, and you can cheerfully go about your daily activities,
knowing Jesus expects to go with you as your best Friend
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