Proverbs 22:11

Those who love a pure heart–their words are gracious; the king is their friend.

It all begins with a pure heart. If one’s core personality is not oriented in the proper way, then the rest will not follow. But those who do have a pure heart will speak gracious words, because words are the reflection of the heart. The result is positive. Such people have the king as a friend, and it is always good to have friends in high places.

-Tremper Longman III

Luke 9:18,28

Jesus was praying alone.

Jesus went up a mountain to pray.

Jesus took special time to pray. To do nothing but pray. Which is to commune with our Father in conversational interaction.

We should pray–> a LOT.

“Without ceasing,” someone once wrote.

It is good to set aside time to pray alone and in the quiet. To simply converse with God in a focused manner. This is so richly life-giving, and I believe many Christians miss out on the soul-blessing that this simple, centuries-proven practice provides. We are losing the ability as a society to focus in on one thing at a time. Yet even science tells us that our brains thrive and are in a state of optimal rest only when we are singularly focused.

Perhaps you don’t know what you’re missing. I can’t think of a time I walked away from focused prayer without peace, without the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders, taken by the only One who is capable of handling such a burden.

It is good to pray throughout the day and on the go, don’t get me wrong, but is that enough, really? Is that enough to experience the deep connection we were all made for?

Is it enough for your spouse or closest friend to only talk in passing while doing something else at the same time?

Luke 9:35

“This is my Son, my chosen One: listen to Him.”

If anyone could ever say, “I’m kind of a big deal” it was Jesus of Nazareth.

Everything Jesus said was absolute truth, whether we like it or not. He is who YHWH chose to reveal Himself thru in human form. Jesus showed us in the form of a human being what our Creator is like. Get to know Jesus, you get to know God, because He and the Father are one.

You will do yourself a huge blessing to form new habits of thought>>

To think of Jesus at least one second out of every minute of the day, or something similar. Just the attempt is a blessing…