(Religion or Relationship?)

There are some people who take pride in the number of hours they pray. They like to lead prayers to show how ‘spiritual’ they are.

I must say, it is a nice feeling when you are able to pray for long hours. It feels even nicer, when you are able to pray more than your peers. You feel like Apostle Paul who said, “I thank God that I speak in [strange] tongues (language) more than any of you or all of you put together.”[1 Corinthians 14:18 AMP]

It is really a good feeling when you are able to pray for long hours seeing how difficult the Christian walk could be. The difficulty in the Christian walk is that, unlike the flesh (sin) where you have hormones to help your actions and inactions, Christian living has no hormonal support. In fact, these hormones work against the Christian faith when you’d rather need their support: When you want to fast, that is when your stomach knows the various degrees of hunger; when you want to pray, that is when your knees or body knows tiredness and laziness for the first time; when you want to wake up at dawn to pray, that is when sleeping beauty knocks on the door. So you see, the Christian living is no joke. At least if these hormones wouldn’t disturb you with their lack of support, it would have been easier. So, you should understand it when someone feels the right to ‘brag’ that he/she is able to pray for long hours. It means that he/she has been able to break through the strong gate of hellish hormones, to get to the “divine”.

But is this bragging worth it?

Let’s look at something in the Holy Bible;

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.” [Matthew 7:21]

“If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.” [John 14:15]

From the scripture in John, we realize that Jesus is talking about something different: He is asking a question, “If you love me…” Before we go any further, can you see that in Matthew 7:21, God through Jesus is telling us that calling on his name isn’t enough? You’ll have to do the Will of His Father in heaven. If we should link this to that of John 14:15, it tells us that God desires relationship (obedience) over rules and regulations, sacrifices, and practices of a ‘religion’.

Praying for 10 hours is good, but if there is no relationship between you and God, then you are making noise; Religious noise.

Let’s look at it this way;

Between these two which one would you appreciate or love more; A stranger or acquaintance who comes to visit you and stays for hours chatting with you, OR a friend or even lover coming over for about 30 minutes? Which of these visits would you love and would want more of?

Obviously, you would want more of your friend or lover’s visit, even though it was just 30 minutes. Because it would be more fulfilling for you. With the acquaintance, you would feel bored with him. Why? Because you don’t know him, and you are not emotionally connected with him. In addition, when he comes around, he does all the talking; whatever you try to tell him, he doesn’t do. It is as if he only sees visiting you for long hours to be the only way to show affection [ie:  praying for long hours without taking a break to listen to God, or have any relationship with him]. Would you want more of his visits? I wouldn’t want more. In fact, his visits would be like a waste of my time: I could be doing something better or more fun with that time instead.

BRETHREN, KNOW THAT GOD DESIRES TO A RELATIONSHIP WITH US. He is not “too spiritual” to desire/have a relationship with human beings. Human beings are actually spirits: They are more spirit than they think they are flesh. So it is normal and sound for God to desire a relationship with us.

Praying for long hours is good, but if it doesn’t build a relationship between you and God, then it is religion; a waste of time.

Before Christ, Christianity was a religion, but His death and resurrection has come to change the face of it. Christianity is not a religion ANYMORE. It is a faith walk, a relationship walk with the Creator himself.

Christ’s death tore the barrier (temple cloth) between man and God’s holy presence. Now, as a result of the death and resurrection of Christ, every Christian born of God (John 3_ born again Christian) can come into the presence of God as he/she goes in and out of the presence of his/her earthly parents.

Christ didn’t come to earth to die to ‘show off’: there was a cause and reason for the step; to save man, and win man back to God (have an Eden relationship with man again).

Don’t let religion keep you out of the door of heaven. It wasn’t your ‘righteousness’ which caused Christ to come down to die for you. It was His love for you (John 3:16). And now that He has died for you, with His Spirit at work in you, he expects that you see all the inheritance and authority, and provision He has made available for you to enjoy his presence, and have a good life.

Choose Faith over Religion.

Choose Relationship over Rules and Regulations, Dos and Don’ts of Religion.

He is standing at the door of your heart knocking. Please open your door for Him. Do not keep him waiting… Please be nice to Him; He means well.

Be good, and have a lovely day and life.

Amen.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” _ 2 Timothy 1:7.