Welcome my friend! Come on in I have our cuppa’s ready.
We’ll be sitting under our beautiful flowering Jacaranda tree today.
We have a canopy of lilac blossoms above us & a carpet of fallen lilac blossoms beneath. Such breathtaking beauty!
We are having a slice of freshly baked Almond, Date & Coconut loaf, absolutely delicious!
You may be wondering what is the magnificent Occupation?
Well we’ll be exploring this today for we are all called to this most important of Occupations!
The Occupation
As you may be aware, if you join me here often, over the last few years God has highlighted a Word for the Year to me for reflection throughout that year.
Last year it was the word Release & how it related to the ancient Year of Jubilee .
I saw an amazing answer to a forty year prayer for two of my loved ones.
This year’s word has been Prayer.
Earlier this year we reflected upon a Series on the Lord’s Prayer together in Hidden Treasures.
Which brought a fresh look at why Jesus taught the disciples & us to pray in this way.
And how Jesus highlighted the importance of prayer.
Which brings us to today’s reflection.
Is Prayer the most important of Occupations?
Recently, I decided it was time to spring clean & reorganize my study/guest room.
Which meant relocating my books & bookcases to the opposite side of the room for more space.
And while giving the books an individual clean I came across a little book that I had completely forgotten I had on my shelf.
It’s a composite of Oswald Chambers comments & teachings interspersed with quotes from his various books.
I can’t remember where or who I got this little gem from but rediscovering it has been rather exciting & timely.
Simplicity
I have been enjoying it’s simplicity in its content & teaching.
In the introduction Oswald makes some poignant statements.
He talks about the occupation of every Christian is to pray.
And yet many times we want to do & be far more for God!
Isn’t this just so true!
Oswald, goes on to state that to Jesus prayer, which is communing with the Heavenly Father was extremely important.
Jesus viewed it vastly different to what we see it as today! And Jesus lead us by example!
In fact it can be seen in the scriptures that communing with His Heavenly Father was always in the forefront of Jesus thoughts.
Prayer is definitely a Holy Occupation
Prayer is definitely a Holy Occupation as it’s one that opposes the fast paced world we live in.
Prayer brings us into a time of communing with our Heavenly Father for eternal things.
So, if Prayer is a holy occupation, then why don’t we have a fervour for it? And why do many see it as a chore?
I believe the reason is that prayer has/is seen as an addition to our lives rather than an integral part of our lives.
Let me explain that statement…
Haven’t you noticed that we can get so focused upon the daily things of this life that we often see our spiritual life as a seperated entity.
But God tells us that our physical & spiritual life are inherently interconnected when we accept Jesus Christ into our life;
“Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God?”
1 Corinthians 6:19 Refer II
So, communing with our Heavenly Father, as Jesus taught & demonstrated throughout His life is extremely important!
We are instructed that;
“…for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought,
but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf…”
Romans 8:26 Refer II
This is done in our time of prayer with our Heavenly Father, as the Holy Spirit guides & directs.
But we have to allow this process each day otherwise the things of this world will entirely consume our day!
For the Holy Spirit is the perfect gentleman,
He will not force anything upon us,
not even prayer!
How can we enter this wondrous Occupation?
Read HERE
Until next time,
Jennifer
You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook
Or in Prayer
© 2021 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog, All Rights Reserved. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels.com
Prayer is seen as an add on and not an integral part of it – that is a good way of understanding why we tend not to make prayer such a vital part of our daily living.
Looking forward to the next part.
Thank you Jennifer and that healthy loaf sounds wonderful
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Thank you Manu! It was delicious 😊
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Jennifer, for the past year or more I have had a strong conviction about my prayer life. I am trying to be intentional, but the enemy does everything to try and hinder. Thank you for your encouraging thoughts and scriptures. Bless you, sweet friend 🙏🏻
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Yes, our enemy will indeed try & hinder our prayer life Pam. I’m so glad we have a Redeemer who is far stronger 🤗 Bless you sweet friend ❤️
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Prayer as a holy occupation – I love this wording, Jennifer! Prayer is indeed holy; may we all linger in it a bit more.
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Indeed Lisa, I thought Oswald’s way of putting it was great, very thought provoking in its challenge for our individual prayer life! 😊
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Jennifer I never thought about prayer as an “occupation” much less a holy occupation, but how true that is! Your words are both beautiful and encouraging. Thank you for this redirection to help me focus on this important occupation!
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You’re most welcome Donna! I thought the same when I read this little gem. 🤗
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Great exhortation Jennifer. I have had seasons in my life when prayer was just an add-on and others when prayer was close to non-existent. But over the past couple of decades, it has become more and more of an occupation, especially since I retired. I live alone, so I have no one to disturb me. I start soon after I get up in the morning and usually spend several hours in prayer both by myself and on the phone with a prayer partner. It has become simply part of my life as much as eating. But it didn’t happen overnight or without its struggles. I wrote a book on prayer and self-published it a few years ago and shared in it some of my personal experiences of how I arrived where I am today. It has been, as I said, a process, and I am well aware that there is still much room for improvement–always will be until the Lord returns or calls me home.
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Thank you for sharing your personal journey of prayer with us my friend. 💝
I love how God takes us on progressive pathways to learn more of Him, as He reveals Himself little by little to us while on that journey.
And congratulations on publishing your book on prayer! 🤗
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Huh, I never thought about prayer as an occupation. Compelling lesson today.thank you for sharing. Blessings.
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I found Oswald’s teachings very thought provoking as well, Paula. Blessings to you too my friend 🤗
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What a beautiful approach to prayer, Jennifer–a holy occupation. I love this! Thank you for sharing.
Peace and grace,
Tammy
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Thank you Tammy! 🤗
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So much beauty and wisdom to unpack in your words, Jennifer. I’ve never heard of prayer being a holy occupation, but I can see it! Thank you for opening my eyes to a new way of seeing how prayer needs to be a vital element of our daily walk with the Lord.
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Thank you Lisa, it’s such a wonderful revelation in our journey of prayer in our relationship with our Heavenly Father… Isn’t it! 🤗
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I must dig out my copy of Chambers’ book. It was one of the first books I ever read on prayer as a new believer 40 years ago! It was such a blessing to me over the next few years. Thanks for the precious reminder! Blessings as we all head into the Christmas season. Enjoy that Jacaranda tree! 🙂
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Thank you Donna! Oswald’s teachings are very thought provoking & encourage stretching our faith in the Lord ☺️
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Jennifer, I love your insights on prayer. I’ve been one who has considered prayer more as an afterthought than as “the main thing.” This year, God has challenged me to be more intentional in my prayer life. I’m still such a work-in-progress when it comes to this aspect of my relationship with Jesus.
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Thank you Jeanne, I think we are all on a journey in regards to our prayer life with the Lord & works-in-progress my friend. But it’s an exciting journey… Isn’t it! 😉
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