MATTHEW 6:9
God doesn’t make us jump through a bunch of hoops in order to know Him and to serve Him. He even tells his disciples (and us) how to pray. There are so many ways to worship God. Sometimes worship is singing along to a CD as you drive to school. Sometimes it is thanking God for everything that you can think of that He has given you. Sometimes worship is being curious and astonished by the creativity and diversity you see in nature. My life is so complicated and hectic that I struggle to give God my time. I want to uncomplicate my life, and in a sense this is impossible, because the world and sin are always confusing and complicating things. But we can simplify life some by focusing on what is essential. I have been learning to stop filling up every moment of every day with activity. I have been leaving space in my life to let God in. I have been asking if the ways I spend my time and the things I do will matter in five years, or in a couple of months, or even tomorrow … When I do this, suddenly the pressure I put on myself dissipates. I begin to see what matters—and that is Christ. It overwhelms me that GOD wants to be with me all the time, 24/7! As much as I love my friends, I sometimes get tired of them after spending a lot of time with them, but God never gets tired of us!
Hope Hamilton, 17, Donelson Christian Academy, Donelson, TN
You really want to be with me all the time?
That’s almost impossible to believe. But I want
to believe it, and I pray that You will help me do it.