I need it!

I need to read my Bible every day.

I need to pray every day.

I've come to realize recently that it is not so much simply an option if I should read my Bible and pray daily as it is a sheer necessity for me.  Yes, I know that it is good for me but I have come to notice that it is more than that.  I simply need it.

Just like many of you, when that calendar switched over to January, I was filled with optism and high expectations for myself. 

"I'm gonna do it this year and I'm going to make it a daily commitment."

I was off to a great start actually.  I couldn't sleep on New Year's so I got a jump start on my new Bible reading plan for the year and managed to get a good lead into it, even read a few days ahead!  But then ofcourse, reality and responsibilities settle in quickly and before you know it, I had ended a day and realized, oops, no Bible reading done today.

Shoot.

Well, I got back on the horse the very next day and have kept trying to plug away at it.  But I noticed something on those days when I didn't get my Bible reading in or when I didn't start my day off with the right amount of prayer time.  On those days, life was harder.  Anger and disappointment met me quite a bit quicker than normal.  My patience seemed even thinner than before and spiritual activity/thoughts struggled to even show up on the radar. 

The same thing happens with my prayer life.  A few months ago, a friend and I started calling each other in the mornings before we go to work.  We take just a few minutes and pray for the day.  Once in awhile, it doesn't work out for us to make that prayer call and I can tell a difference in my day.  Days when we make the call, I walk into work feeling focused, prepared and ready for whatever the Lord sees fit to bring me.  I'm usually calmer and more compassionate on these days and often, I notice more witnessing opportunities on these days.  But days when that phone call doesn't take place, well, it's just not the same.  I still pray on my way to work, when I think about it.  See, its easier to forget to pray or to let it slip because the accountability factor is gone.

I need to make time - every morning - and spend it with God in prayer and in His Word. I need it.

I can get discouraged easily. My natural reaction is to reach out to someone for encouragement but what I really need to do is go to God for that encouragement.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Spending time in prayer and in God's Word will help keep those kinds of things at the forefront of my mind. When my mind is filled with those good things, there won't be any room for discouragement, bitterness, discontentment, envy or any more of those vile and wicked thoughts that seem to always be ready and waiting to get my attention.