I climbed the hill behind our house yesterday for the second time.   It seemed steeper to me than I remembered.   As I climbed, I reminded myself of the story about  “The Tortoise and the Hare” which clearly shows us that the race is not to the swift, but to those who endure to the end. Panting for breath, I encouraged myself to keep climbing although my legs felt like lead. I used a reward of rest as incentive to finish the climb.  After several long minutes,  I reached a roadside memorial near the top of the hill. The simple stone column and two park benches  sat  among the vineyards and reminded all who passed  by  that Joseph Kolleman, 100 years ago,  had championed the cause of cultivating vineyards on the hills around our city.  I had never heard of him, but was glad to rest in the place his memorial provided.

I sat down on the bench, not thinking of vineyards, but of my present situation.  The cold wind was gusting against my back. I knew it was not a wind from the North Pole, but it seemed like it.  The simple gesture of pulling the hood of my parka over my head made me think of Elijah.   On a windy mountain, he also pulled his coat over his head.   Unlike Elijah, my wind was not as fierce, nor did I see fire, nor feel the earth quake.  Nevertheless, like Elijah, the still small voice came to me also.  

As He unfolded Elijah’s story to me, I realized that events had robbed me of my trust in God.   He showed me that His purposes and His heart were bound together with mine.  He allowed me to feel how much He loved me and let me know that in the total scheme of things I was important to Him.

As I sat looking over the valley and listening to the Lord, I recalled how He refreshed and revitalized Elijah.  God told him to anoint two kings and a prophet to succeed him in ministry.  He sent him back into the fray of life with three new tasks to perform.  To encourage him, God also told Elijah several thousand people were honoring their faith commitment and had not bowed their knee to the idols of the day.

As I rehearsed these events, weighing their importance to me at this moment in my life, I knew that God had subtly readjusted my thinking. Instead of doubting, I believed again.  Trust had found its rightful place. I felt refreshed, ready to continue the tasks to which He had called me.  In those few moments, He turned my mind from doubt to faith, and my heart from fear to trust.

It is easy to be sidetracked by life, especially by that segment of life we call people.  When threatened by evil, Elijah forgot that he was called of God for a specific purpose.  He ran to hide because of fear.  He forgot that with the purpose of God comes protection and power to complete the purpose.  I had also forgotten, but the still small voice reminded me of my purpose and the call.  He reminded me that I belonged to Him, and that His purpose always supersedes any plans that the enemy may devise.

The ability to hear the still small voice at any moment is why we must always maintain a climate of prayer in our hearts. Faithfulness in daily prayer and reserving time in that prayer to quietly sit in His presence, create a base from which God can speak to us.  I try never to leave my place of prayer without giving time for Him to speak to me.  I have learned that to hear His voice is the purpose of prayer.

Like Elijah, we may be strong and stand before the world declaring the Word of the Lord, or like him, we run away to hide in a cave when things go wrong.   We must leave the cave sometime, and to be able to hear the still small voice giving direction will make all the difference in the way we live the rest of our lives. It doesn’t matter if we are strong, weak, in top form, or in hiding.   What matters is that we are able to hear His voice.

Elijah walked down from the mountain with renewed energy to complete the tasks God called him to do.  I also walked down from my mountain refreshed, ready to continue walking in God’s purposes for me.  The cold wind I had faced walking up the hill seemed friendlier to me as I turned toward home.  Walking down the hill, I was again grateful that I knew how to pray and to hear the still small voice.

The still small voice tells us:  You have

a place in Me.  I have

                      a plan for you. It is your

                                      purpose-a reason for living.

A. C. Craft

Be real when you pray.  Let the real you show up to meet God.

Not the “you” you think people expect you to be.  Pray that God’s will for you becomes your desire.

~Cheryl Craft

Time spent with family and our church friends is necessary and beneficial.

Yet there are times we need to leave them behind and get alone with God.

What does it mean to us to be alone with God?

• To always be surrounded by others drains our strength. We have to be alone to regain consciousness of who we are and our purpose. In our aloneness we sense our weakness and dependence on God. We need time alone to maintain our Christian life and to renew our power to influence men for God.
• When we are alone with God we face spiritual realities. We withdraw from things that are seen to things that are unseen. We yield ourselves to the power of the heavenly realm and allow it to work in us. We consider the power of God: how he overcame the evil world and how we also can live free from sin in the power of God. In this time spent in God’s presence we are transformed and conformed to His likeness.
• In our time alone with God, we are refreshed in spirit. We meditate on His word taking it into our minds and spirit. We receive strength to witness to others of His goodness we have experienced after we have spent time alone with God.
• To be alone with God is a privilege. We examine ourselves and ask for his wisdom and strength. He imparts to us all that His Word means and gives guidance and direction to our lives. He works in a moment of time, but it takes us awhile to lay off cares and burdens and allow Him time to work in us as we wait on Him alone.

Our flesh is always in a hurry irritated and agitated by daily life. It takes time alone with God to lay our flesh aside and become quiet and calm before Him. We master our flesh and its tendency to rule our time, when we enter into our prayer closet and close the door.   I am reminded of this song we used to sing:

Shut in with God in a secret place.

            There in the spirit beholding His face.

            Gaining new power to run in this race.

            I love to be shut in with God.

Step out of this world and into eternity. Take time to be alone with God.

~Cheryl Craft

“Commitment is more than an action; it is a quality of mind. Jesus defined commitment when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” (Matthew 22:37, NAS).”

As we give ourselves wholeheartedly to our commitment, we receive strength to accomplish whatever is necessary to keep it. We see commitment in action when we turn to the Scriptures to read the story of Ruth. She pledged her allegiance, love, and devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi. If we commit to prayer as Ruth committed to Naomi, we can understand the quality of mind necessary to become a faithful person of prayer.

Naomi, her husband, and sons, journeyed to Moab to escape famine in their country of Judah. While living in Moab, her two sons met and married Ruth and Orpah, who were citizens of that land.  In the course of time, Naomi’s husband died, followed by her two sons. Hearing that the famine was over in Judah, she decided to return to her native country.  Since she had no other sons to marry the young women (which was a Hebrew custom), she gave them permission to remain in their own land and to marry men of their own country.

Responding out of their love for Naomi, both young women said they would go with her to Judah. It could be they accompanied her as far as the border. At this point, Naomi tried to persuade the young women to return to their families.  Both women said they would not return but continue with her. However, when Naomi again prevailed on them to return, Orpah kissed her good-by and departed.  One young woman, Ruth, remained with her.  What was the difference between the two women?

Both women loved her, packed their bags, and left town with Naomi. Both cried when she entreated them to leave her.  What did Ruth possess that Orpah did not?  She had commitment.  She determined that nothing but death would separate her from Naomi. Orpah had the same opportunity to go with Naomi as Ruth did, yet she chose to return.  We can only guess why Orpah decided to return home. Perhaps she saw no future in a strange land, or she was not as devoted to Naomi as it seemed. Could it be she did not love enough? To be weak in love is to be weak in faith, for love believes all things. (I Corinthians 13)  Whatever the reason, she turned back, and we do not hear of her again. Ruth, however, pledged her allegiance to Naomi. She declared her intentions with these beautiful words of commitment:

“Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; Your people will be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16, NASV).

With this statement, she declared her future.  She became a member of Naomi’s family, and the God of Israel became her God. When Naomi saw her determination, she accepted her commitment.  She no longer tried to persuade her to return.

As we examine Ruth’s commitment to Naomi and compare it with the commitment to prayer, we see that faith and love are integral parts of commitment. Ruth loved and believed in Naomi and in her God.  Faith and love are companions of commitment.  When we use our power of faith and love, we find commitment nearby.  Whatever a man loves and believes, he gives himself wholly to it.  Commitment is like glue; it holds together what we firmly believe until we receive it.  Commitment is important in all we do.  When we give ourselves to any project or relationship, commitment is present to help us carry it through to completion, even in difficult times.

Ruth’s declaration of love to Naomi was a continuation of the commitment she made when she married into the family. She embraced their culture as well as their God.

By so doing, she set a course from which she never turned back.  We do not know details of the first years of her married life, but perhaps her family and friends ridiculed her for marrying into a foreign family and accepting their God. Her love for her new family grew as the years passed. With courage and boldness she refused to allow Naomi to persuade her to turn aside from her love.  When we give our selves to prayer, there will be a time when our commitment is tested. We will be tempted to miss our prayer time by other activities, or friends may insist we are praying far more than necessary.  In this time of testing, our commitment holds us steadfast.

When we show our determination, life responds by helping us.  The people who saw Ruth daily gleaning in the fields to gather grain for her mother-in-law’s table, recognized her commitment.  They joined her by helping. Even Boaz, the owner of the fields, pronounced blessing upon her. He said, ”May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge” (Ruth 2:12, NASV).

Looking at Ruth’s relationship with Naomi, we see that she loved and believed in her. Commitment to Naomi followed naturally. Life was not always easy for Ruth. She gave up her people to become a citizen of a different country. Working long hours in the sun, Ruth provided food for Naomi.  She also joined her faith to the God of Israel, and accepted their covenant with God as her own. Ruth was not disappointed in all her choices, because Naomi remembered her commitment by arranging a marriage for her.

The rewards of our prayer commitment are many. When we commit to prayer, our passion encourages other to join with us in seeking God. In committing ourselves to God in prayer, we find a new authority we did not have before this time. We begin to see answered prayers, and people trust us to pray for them. Our faithful prayer has gained us access into the inner courts of heaven. Heaven recognizes our voice and responds.

Jesus had much to say about committed people.  They sell all they have to buy a field, because they know a treasure lies therein, or they sell all they have to buy a glorious pearl.  When His disciples asked Him what they would receive for leaving all to follow Him, He told them that people who committed all to Him would receive more in this life than they had given up, and eternal life in heaven. (Luke 18:29-30)

We can see the truth of this principle in the story of Ruth.  She gave all to join herself to the God of Israel.  She received more then she gave up. She had nothing but her faith and love wrapped up in the cloak of commitment.  It was enough.

Pledging our allegiance, love, and devotion to prayer, we receive the necessary quality that allows us to become faithful men and women of prayer.

To become a faithful person of prayer requires commitment.

Related Scriptures:

“There are many facets of prayer that we could speak about today: Intercessions, petitions, how to seek God, praises, worship are all aspects of prayer that are worthy of study. Today I want to talk about waiting on God in prayer.”

Psalm 68:35 Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 46:10; Psalm 23:2; Psalm 4:4

Introduction: