Ordinary, everyday objects can inspire and draw us nearer to God.
Decades ago, I attended a prayer seminar where the speaker asked us to look at our watches and use this object as a launching pad to prayer.
So, I did. And it opened up my mind to God's greatness and his awesome qualities.
As I repeat this exercise now, my watch makes me think of "time". God is beyond time. The apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8 that, for God, "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day".
Like many others, I try to fit God into my conception of time. I feel I have urgent needs which need to be met immediately. But God's vision is greater than mine. His answer to my prayer will come - but maybe not until much later, perhaps even after my death.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews notes in Hebrews 11 that many Old Testament believers died for their faith in God, expecting a future Messiah. But they would be rewarded in time for their faith when Jesus died and rose again centuries later.
My watch reminds me, too, that my time on earth is limited and that every minute is precious. I am here to worship God and love him and everyone I meet.
The fact that time does not bind God makes me realize how great God is. He created time for us as human beings to work out his plan for our redemption. We are made in the image of God, but we are not God.
All this is a good beginning for a prayer time worshiping the Lord and contemplating his majesty and greatness.
Ever since that prayer seminar, I have periodically used things I see to stimulate prayer. I do this especially when I am out walking. Nature provides a lot of inspiration for prayer.
For example, a tree in late autumn, stripped of its leaves, can remind me that God is the source of life. The tree may be bare now, but the sap will flow in the spring and new growth sprout. The same can happen to us in our lives.
I have returned to this practice more intently recently.
It's something I can do anytime.
And it keeps my mind on God.
Decades ago, I attended a prayer seminar where the speaker asked us to look at our watches and use this object as a launching pad to prayer.
So, I did. And it opened up my mind to God's greatness and his awesome qualities.
As I repeat this exercise now, my watch makes me think of "time". God is beyond time. The apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8 that, for God, "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day".
Like many others, I try to fit God into my conception of time. I feel I have urgent needs which need to be met immediately. But God's vision is greater than mine. His answer to my prayer will come - but maybe not until much later, perhaps even after my death.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews notes in Hebrews 11 that many Old Testament believers died for their faith in God, expecting a future Messiah. But they would be rewarded in time for their faith when Jesus died and rose again centuries later.
My watch reminds me, too, that my time on earth is limited and that every minute is precious. I am here to worship God and love him and everyone I meet.
The fact that time does not bind God makes me realize how great God is. He created time for us as human beings to work out his plan for our redemption. We are made in the image of God, but we are not God.
All this is a good beginning for a prayer time worshiping the Lord and contemplating his majesty and greatness.
Ever since that prayer seminar, I have periodically used things I see to stimulate prayer. I do this especially when I am out walking. Nature provides a lot of inspiration for prayer.
For example, a tree in late autumn, stripped of its leaves, can remind me that God is the source of life. The tree may be bare now, but the sap will flow in the spring and new growth sprout. The same can happen to us in our lives.
I have returned to this practice more intently recently.
It's something I can do anytime.
And it keeps my mind on God.
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