Praise & Pray

A distraction pulls your attention from what you should be doing. It disrupts your focus and ability to concentrate. Far too many Christians can barely pray because something else demands their attention. Sometimes, such distractions are unavoidable, such as the need to care for a child. However, there are interruptions you must beware of - that call that arrives right before studying the word, for instance. Such non-coincidences are the outworking of satan's schemes to stop you from drawing closer to God, destroy your spiritual health, and cause you to misuse the powerful processing unit God gave you - your mind.

Being a believer requires a certain amount of self-discipline. Without it, you will fail to live within the boundaries spelled out in the Bible. Don't gossip, don't grumble, or don't cause others to sin, for example. And when you allow distractions to intrude on the things you are to do within the timeframe you should do them, the distraction has control of you. In a sense, that distraction and what it represents becomes your god. So, if you are supposed to spend time praising the Lord, but don't because of breaking news, that news, and not the Heavenly Father, gets your attention. That idol receives your worship and controls your thought life.

God has specifically warned His children to have no other gods (Exodus 20:3). Not before Him (more important), beside Him (of equal status), or anywhere around Him. This is why when the Philistines brought their god, Dagon, and tried to plant its statue by the Ark of God's Covenant in 1 Samuel 5:4, they kept finding their god on the floor, crushed. The Lord refused to share His glory and His space with any false god. Similarly, you aren't to subject Him to that by being controlled by the distractions of this world.

Imagine being God and looking forward to spending time with your child through their prayers, fasting, or worship. Now imagine that the quality time you were anticipating was interrupted because that child got a notification and scurried off to social media for their 'fix'. That person has chosen for the spirits of gossip, slander, and ungodly curiosity to have dominion over them. They have chosen to put God on the back burner. How would you feel if someone did that to you? And yet, that is how distraction causes you to disregard the Lord and elevate idols above Him.

The worst part is that you don't even realize how distraction cheats you out of the blessings, wisdom, and other rewards you would have received by doing godly things at the appointed time. The devil, however, is well aware and uses distraction to throw believers out of God's plan and timing. It is skilled at getting Christians to focus on the wrong thing and make that their god instead of the Almighty. It knows that this is the way to trick God's children into giving more effort and time to everything but what matters to God.

Do you pray for others daily? How often do you stop to give God praise or to testify? Are you so numb to sin that you've forgotten the promise of Psalm 1, which tells you not to be like the ungodly who don't serve God? When you fail to do what God calls His people to do, you are no different from an unbeliever. And when distraction is the reason why you don't do what pleases Him, there will be serious consequences. These consequences may not be immediately apparent, but they will surely show up.

Do not agree with satan by succumbing to its schemes to distract you and cut into your time with God. Don't let the enemy hamper your ability to consistently serve God. Sadly, many are doing this through a lack of discipline over their minds. And this results in the inability to maintain focus for long. Remember that as a born-again Christian, you have authority (Luke 10:19). You were also given the spirit of sound mind per 2 Timothy 1:7, and must put that authority to use.

Increasingly practice control over your mind by not allowing anything to distract you from serving God. This will require you to be intentional and choose certain things to do each day for the Lord. This can include, but is not exclusively limited to, reading your Bible, giving Him praise, interceding for others, and spending quiet time to hear what He has to say. That way, you will not succumb to satan's attempts to keep you from the things of God that bring success. With faith and consistency, you will be less susceptible to distractions and enjoy peace of mind. This is my prayer for you, IJMN, Amen.

Give your life to Christ with the Altar Call below and learn more about today's topic from the following previous P&P messages:

1. Rely on God, Not Man

2. Rely on God

3. Give God What He Wants To Get What You Want

4. Take Jesus At His Word

5. Defeating the Enemy: Identify and Break Harmful Agreements with satan

6. Are You Numb To Evil?

7. Did You Ask God First?

8. Why Don’t We Ask God First?

9. Desire God's More For Yourself

10. Don't Be satan's Mouthpiece

11. Depend Solely On God

12. Agree With God Not satan

13. Don't Be Easily Manipulated

14. Who Controls Your Mind?

15. On Daydreaming

16. Topic: God's Concerns Series (Mark 8:33)

17. Topic: Righteousness

18. Topic: Your Mind & Thought Life