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"Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the LORD."
(Proverbs 8:33-35)
The title of the devotion today is from a line in the song "Aaron Burr, sir" from the Hamilton musical. Recently, we watched the Broadway show again at our local theatre. A few years back, Ashley and I went to New York City and saw it there as well. I have since downloaded the entire musical so I can listen to it easily. Aaron Burr told Alexander Hamilton (before he shot him, obviously) that he needed to "talk less, smile more." I am not an Aaron Burr fan, but I think that is good advice for everyone today. What a better world we would have if we all talked less, listened more attentively, and simply smiled more.
The "talk less" part of the quote is what I want to visit with you about today. As I mentioned yesterday, the Lord has been impressing upon me to do just this: speak less in prayer and listen more. God has been so patient with me as I have been a slow learner in this discipline of listening to Him instead of simply praying rote memory prayers that He already knows about! This one simple change has helped me tremendously in my personal time with the Lord.
In their excellent book on prayer titled, Lead with Prayer, the authors, Skoog, Greer, and Doolittle, studied the prayer habits of some of the most effective and faithful followers of Jesus, both in the past and present. One of the things they found was that many of these godly men and women prayed morning, noon, and evening prayers. This is a discipline I have incorporated in my walk with the Lord for many years. There are 4-5 times a day when I will stop whatever I am doing and talk to God. Part of that prayer is to reflect back on the Scriptures I read that morning. I have found this to be a great way to slow down and invite the Lord into whatever I am doing.
Praying morning, noon, and evening is supported in Scripture. David and perhaps Daniel engaged in multiple prayer times.
"Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice."
(Psalms 55:17)
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
(Daniel 6:10)
Will you give it a try? Spend some time during your day and talk to God. It does not have to be long. Simply acknowledge the Lord and His goodness and ask Him to guide you. This simple discipline will bless and energize your prayer life.
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