Mark 1:35. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Engage in prayer with focus, humility, and unwavering intentionality
The way we enter into a quick prayer or dedicated prayer time is one of those overlooked topics that rarely finds its way onto the pulpit or into text. Although given a casual glance from time-to-time, it is critically important to our spiritual capacity, and has a profound impact on our relationship with God… and in turn, with others. The place in which we pray is usually riddled with distractions and the chaotic, flippant, unfocused way we stumble into prayer can have us disconnected before we even get started. Other times we bring our poor attitude along for the ride. Still other times we bring our pride, our perceived position, our entitlements, our distractions, even our fear into prayer time. What’s worse is we bring the residue of what we believe were “prayers unanswered” to our time and so our faith in prayer is as solid as a balloon. More than anything, God wants the pure us in prayer time; no façades, predispositions, idols or baggage. He wants us raw, ready to dialogue and receive His fullness without the deterrents of self in an environment where we can only hear Him, and not our internal chatter, or external noise. Consider this: If God knows what we are praying for before we ask, what is He looking for when we pray - the posture of our hearts, a strong faith disposition and a contrite spirit? These are the traits that create an open vessel for God to pour out His blessing and create the space for transformational times of prayer. These are the times we get enough spirit to conquer the day, instead of the day conquering us. Dean Del Sesto
The question is: What baggage do I bring to prayer time that will no longer have a place?