7 Ways To Supercharge Your Prayers: Day 5
Download the PDF Here:
Prayer Supercharger Day 5
Sign up to have the devotionals emailed to you:
Sign Up
Day Five:
Get rid of Idols.
You saw the title of this day and maybe felt relieved.
If you are thinking of a little statue on an altar you probably don’t have that kind of idol and so Day 5 will be a breeze. Sorry. You have idols, we all do. And we need to be rigorous to see them and then disciplined to destroy them.
One way to see where and what the idols are in your life is to ask this question:
“What do I think about when I don’t have to think about anything?”
This question helps because it reminds you the mind doesn’t ever wander aimlessly. When you take it off its leash it takes off in a straight line to kneel at the foot of what you worship.
When praying it gets painfully obvious what your idols are. In the absence of distraction, as we try to focus on God, our minds wander to the stupidest stuff. It might seem frustrating, but rather innocent, when you are praying to have a tendency to pick up your phone and check social media, Kijiji, the news, or your email. It might seem frustrating, but rather innocent, that you have time for working out or watching Netflix but not prayer.
But this isn’t innocent, it is idolatrous.
The key here is to not think of these wanderings as stupid stuff. That minimizes them. We need to acknowledge the mental wanderings as us traipsing to the feet of our idols. We need to admit our priorities are way out of whack.
Victory over idols starts with confessing to God he is not nearly as important to you as you are pretending. Tell him you want him to reign supreme. To captivate you. To rule your mind. And then after confessing take practical steps to grow in the ability to discipline your mind and focus on God.
Simple things like not checking your phone in the morning before you pray or having it in another room during your devotional time are simple steps which help to this end.
Begin experimenting with other ways to keep your thoughts on God. Memorize verses until they run through your mind like commercial jingles. Put a rubber band on your arm to remind you of Jesus’ presence. Fast from whatever it is that draws you until it loses it’s pull on you.
Do whatever you need to do to get rid of idols.
Prayer:
Lord, I admit that most of what keeps me from enjoying knowing you like I want to is embarrassingly stupid. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. Help me identify and eliminate idols. I want you to be my most frequent thought. In that my joy is found.
Memory Verse:
“Son of man these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them enquire of Me at all?”
– Ezekiel14:3
“My children keep away from idols.”
-1 John 5:21