The Convenient Prayer

As we "do" life, we develop a routine for daily activities.  Things like the route we take to work, exercise plans and even the times we take our meals become habitual.  We have established a pattern of activities (purposely or not) that guide us from day to day - week to week.  There's nothing wrong with routine, schedule or habits.  They can provide order to an overburdened life.  The problem occurs when something doesn't fit into our normal routine.  Emergencies, surprises and the unexpected can upset our apple cart of normalcy.  Yet these very things also seem to get our attention in ways that "routine" never does.

It's the same with our walk with the Lord.  After our initial salvation, many of us fall into a routine of faith.  This routine may include our times of prayer, study, service attendance and fellowship.  We are content with our patterns.  We are thrilled and wear as a badge of honor our disciplined lives of prayer, study, etc.  Disciplines of the faith are wonderful, but routine faith is dangerous.  Repetitive patterns of behavior can minimize Holy Spirit's influence in our lives.  Routine replaces His role that leads us into fresh times of worship, study and prayer.  His leading can and will often violate our routines.  He will turn the apple cart over, inside out, upside down and then smash it.

Typically, when an unplanned event,  crisis or emergency arises, we quickly turn to God.    It is then we utter one of those "convenient prayers" like I Need Thee.  It seems that until something forces us out of the "normalcy" of live, we say we love God, but live like we don't really need Him in the routine of things.  The song I Need Thee has only been an old hymn we sing from time to time until the unexpected happens.  We then sing it with gusto:

I need Thee

O I need Thee

Every hour I need Thee

O bless me now my Savior

I come to Thee

This should be our prayer every day as we ask Holy Spirit to lead. We are designed to lead lives of great intimacy and communication with God.  We sing this song with a desperate heart knowing that walking through this life without His minute by minute leading is pointless and flesh driven.  When we allow Holy Spirit to take the lead, He will direct us through it all such that God is glorified in all we do.  He not only leads us into refreshing times of prayer and study, but also leads us into darkness where we can be the light.  Adventures with Holy Spirit doesn't leave time for routine existence. 

Making a decision to rely more completely on God doesn't mean you let the stupid stick whack common sense out of you.  A pastor once told me that a member of his church would not use the toilet without consulting God first.  Really?!  God gave us bladders that signal us when it is time to go.  Holy Spirit doesn't make us helpless, He simply fills us with His wisdom, knowledge and understanding as he directs our path. 

Ephesians 1:17-19(NKJV)
¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,  ¹⁸the eyes of our ^£understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  ¹⁹and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 

Let's make it our daily cry and not just a convenient prayer -  I NEED THEE!