Doulos

I was up early this morning reading my Bible, and I came across the writer’s description of himself: a slave of Jesus Christ. Now, the Greek word doulos can mean servant. I like the word servant. I like thinking of myself as a servant of Jesus. I like the thought that I am helping Him bring in his Kingdom on earth. I like thinking that I’m choosing to offer some of my time in assisting Him.

Being his slave is a totally different matter. Slaves have no rights. Slaves have no choice.  Slaves are useful only as they offer unquestioned obedience to their master. Saying that I am a slave of Jesus means I understand completely that my work on this earth is to carry out what He says while constantly in His service.

It’s also one thing to acknowledge my status as a slave mentally, but it’s a whole different thing when I agree to it in prayer. This morning, I came to a place all over again of acknowledging who is in charge and who isn’t.

The discipline of daily prayer is the key to being useful as a follower of Jesus Christ.  There is something that happens in us when we bow and submit our hearts to “intentionally follow” Jesus. The daily practice of surrender sets us up to serve effectively.

Jesus’ example is clear. He sometimes spent whole nights in prayer. He had the habit of rising early to pray. He spent time in prayer before making decisions. What was the theme of his prayer time? I think it was correctly defining who was in authority:  “Not my will Father, but yours be done.”

Most “great” Christians have the habit of spending much time in prayer. Prayer is invaluable to helping us declare who is in authority: “OK Lord, You’re in charge. What do YOU want me to do today?”  That’s why Martin Luther was often quoted as saying that he was so busy he couldn’t afford not to spend several hours in prayer each day. That used to discourage me (Several hours? Come on…who’s got time for that?), but now I realize that he was saying he had a huge agenda himself, and he needed to find out which of those agenda items were actually on God’s list for him to do. That kind of prayer would be valuable for us all!

Unfortunately, most of us get up, take off for our day and never ask our Lord what HE wants us to do. If I am really a slave (and I am), then I’ve given up being in charge. I’m here to serve HIM, right?

I will never know what God wants me to do unless I ask Him and then listen for His answer. That’s why I don’t think that minute-long prayers, hurried prayer times, or even “pray and go” prayers (like driving to work) are very effective. I do believe that God loves when His children pray, but the prayers should be more of a conversation than a list of things we have to say to Him.

So, here’s an Intentional for 10 suggestion concerning prayer. Try scheduling a time each day this week when you will spend at least 15 minutes acknowledging God’s place in your life as the one in charge. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Choose morning or evening, very early or very late. It doesn’t matter. Just choose a time this week and be consistent. Tell Him that you love Him, that you’re totally committed to do whatever He says and that you’ll wait for His answer. Jot down what you sense the Holy Spirit is saying to you in a journal and review your notes all week.

This week might be the start of whole new way of life for you!

Branson