Take a seat Jesus
Do you remember the game musical chairs? The game is played a circle of chairs and a group of kids. The number of kids is always one more kids than there are chairs. Some type of music is played, back in my day it was a phonograph. The music starts and the children walk in a circle around the chars until the music stops at which point the children need to find a seat. The unlucky one without a seat is out. The game continues until there is one chair and two children. When the music stops the child in the seat is the winner.
Recently I heard Psalm 22:3 “But you are holy, you who are enthroned on the praises of Israel.” And I began to wonder whether or not God has a throne in my life. Does God have a seat, a place to sit and chat, am I praising God as much or more than I am petitioning Him?
In Revalation 3:20 Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Were we to take Jesus up on his offer will he have a place to sit down? Do we maintain a throne of praise for Jesus and all he has already done for us? Before we even begin to ask for more things are we praising Him for what he has already blessed us with?
In Philippians 4 Paul’s says this “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Yes pray about everything but start out with praise
in the form of thanksgiving. For all that God has already done. Give God a throne to sit on. I want it to. Be a comfortable seat, not a folding chair, (I’m thinking about the folding chair that snoopy fought with in the Charlie Brown thanksgiving special). I want my prayers to stay fresh and be coming from a grateful heart and a humbleness that acknowledges that every good thing in my life has come from God and all the bad things God has and will reuse in my life to “make
Beauty from ashes and The oil of Joy for mourning“.
There are times in my life when I use the ACTS formula for praying:
A – acknowledge
C -confess
T – thank
S – supplicate (ask).
I don’t want my prayers to be formulaic but by using this prompt I remember that prayer Is more than a shopping list and without praise, God has no place to “sit a spell” and converse with me.
