Have you ever been on the Internet and noticed, no ads? I know, I know, no such thing…EVER! I am constantly being bombarded with ads, from this to that and for everything under the sun. I have yet to see any ad that welcomes me and assures me of some rest and respite from the pressures of life. Go here and do this, go there and do that, see this and that, come and spend, spend, SPEND!

It seems, whenever I decide I have had enough of all this, I go back to my past─when I was young, when the only thing that mattered was, playing. Back then the TV stations had some ads but few in number, then again, the stations came on a 3:00 p.m. and went off at 10:00 p.m. Also there were no color TVs, they were all in black and white and the screen was a 13-inch diagonal and the cabinet was a hulking huge piece of furniture. Of course, the radio had been around for quite a while and the ads were everywhere and every home had at least one radio.

I also remember, the days were filled to the brim with all sorts of different scenarios of what to play, the girls had dollies and tea parties and the boys had their guns. Despite these toys, we had a better time using our imaginations and playing with an empty box that someone’s refrigerator came in. Even though the airwaves were full of advertisements, we could not have cared less. Then again, we were children.

The point I am working on here is this: The distractions that we must all face every moment of every day.

The friend who helped me return to my Lord and Savior once told me that Satan and his ilk would rattle a window blind, if they though it would move our attention from the Lord. How insightful of him to know this. Truth, be told, right?

Those of us, who are true believers of Jesus Christ, already know how deceitful Satan and his ilk really are. Let there be no mistake here, he is truly the “silver-tongued devil” and his mark is everywhere and in almost everything. How better to divert our attention from Jesus Christ, than by whispering in our ears, “Money, money, MONEY!”

Or maybe it would be, “See that pretty sparkly under the glass? You should have that, and if you don’t have it already─then why not? Maybe hubby doesn’t love you enough to give that to you!” And then we start our list of other things that have not arrived for our pleasure. Then the next morning arrives with anger, and spitefulness in your heart. As the days move on, these feelings exacerbate like an infected boil.

So here you sit, crying your eyes out! Hubby ran off with the secretary, the dog got picked up and euthanized for biting the mailman, and the cat died of distemper. And you’re wondering to yourself, what happened? In the meantime, Satan and his ilk are sitting back and laughing their collective butts off at you and your new situation! How cozy and warm do you feel now? And there on the end table sits your Bible, all covered in dust, hardly ever opened. Can you see all those “distractions” now?

Matthew 6.19-21: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This is a wonderful passage to consider. If  your eyes had been looking for the things of the Lord, you would never have seen the “sparkly” to begin with, because something like that wouldn’t matter. Had your heart been looking to the Lord, for HIS direction, the words, “money, money, money” would never have been heard. If they had been heard, they would not have mattered to you in the least. Everything falls apart in life the moment you take your eyes and ears off the Lord.

Matthew 11.28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Right there in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Everything one would need to know, who Jesus Christ is. Wrapped up in black and white for all to see and read. No advertisements, no loud music, just the same, straight-forward Truth, that we all know, we need. That blessed state of being quiet, smelling the sweet scent of silence, feeling the warmth and Love of HIS arms around us.

And the world “rages on!”

Don’t you ever have the feeling like, “Someone stop this train. I want off !” (Reread the short paragraph above.)

Jeremiah 31.3: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

When was the last time anyone came along and said that to you, with an everlasting love? Are you starting to see the picture here? The things of this world have NO HOLD on you, unless you allow them to! I sometimes have this video in my head: My Dad has me by the ankles, I’m upside-down and he’s smacking me like there is no tomorrow! “Dad! What are you doing?” I begin to scream! “Shutup! I’m busy trying to knock the ‘stupid’ out of you!” is his reply. And I can see the love in his eyes. I now see the Lord doing the same to me every day.

It has never been the Lord that wants to harm us! The Lord wants to shower us with love! We are the ones, so busy listening to the loud and obnoxious music, rather than  finding the peace and love in our Lord and Savior’s arms! We are the ones that ask for all these advertisements, all the noise, all the distractions, and Satan and his ilk are always ready, willing and able to provide for that all you ask!

And then people have the audacity to blame the Lord for all that goes wrong in our lives and this world. And as they do so, they are all too willing to find WHOM is at fault, whom can they blame!

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, didn’t get on the cross at Calvary all by Himself. You and I helped to put HIM there…and NEVER once did HE deserve that! Before you seek someone to blame, for your situation, I would suggest you begin with the mirror and then end with the Bible!

Have you ever sat down and thought seriously about your prayers? I am not talking about the prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” I’m not talking about the prayer, “Lord I sure would like to have that new BMW 335i…” I’m talking about that prayer, where you suddenly see how failed you really are! I’m talking about that prayer about our family members, the “lost” family members! I’m talking about the prayer, where you see your SIN, where you recognize that SIN is yours!

Do you kneel by your bed alone and talk with your Lord and Savior about your relationship with HIM? Do you talk with the Lord about everyone in this country of ours and pray they have a change of heart? And what about our leaders, whether you like them or not, do you Pray for them to see what the Lord wants them to see? That is a tough one I know, but do you know, that to do otherwise is SIN in and of itself?

John 15.5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Did you catch that? “for without me ye can do nothing!” Has it occurred to you that without the Lord, you don’t even have the next breath of air, much less the ability to do anything else.|? With our Lord being the Vine, HE is the beginning, the first, the reason you live! With, “For without me ye can do nothing” means HE is also the end to everything.

Revelation 22.13: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Genesis 1.1: “In the beginning……God…..created the heaven and the earth.”

Exodus 3.14: “And God said unto Moses….I Am That I Am….and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel….I Am….hath sent me unto you.”

My friends, let there be no mistake here: GOD is the one and ONLY GOD and there is none beside HIM!

Understanding these Scriptures, we must know that God Created everything. Therefore everything belongs to HIM and this includes you and me, body, soul and spirit! You and I will never have a single thought without HIM or the next breath of air. We are NOT able to live without HIM allowing us to live, one second, one day, or anything else. In other words, you and I, do NOT exist without HIM…the VINE!

So then comes the question, why do we come before God the Father with the prayers that we do?

Stop and think on this: Each body is created by God. It works and moves and does some pretty amazing things at times. Considering how wonderfully we were created and how well our bodies work and then add to that, the length of time they work, everyone would agree God is pretty awesome, Right? Now take a second look at the examples of prayers we have prayed, as those at the beginning of this article. Why would we ever think to come before such a great and powerful God, as we know HE is, and pray any prayers like that?

That is a slap in HIS face! That my friends, is blasphemy!

PLEASE…read the example the Lord gave us on how to pray and then pray like it will be the last thing you ever get to say! Break it apart, give the individual pieces, the emphasis they deserve and know these things in your heart…Prayer to our Lord and Savior requires you and me to be…“fervent!”

Your prayers should be the “bleeding of your heart.” Each and every prayer should the from the deepest part of our heart and soul, moanings and groanings that shake the foundations of the spirit. We should be praying for others around us, especially our enemies and those that hate us, those that try to deceive us, those that hurt us and ridicule us for our faith in Jesus Christ. We should asking for the Father to run through their lives and hearts and give them wisdom and discernment for thier good. And yet, what have we usually said? Have we been blasphemous to our Lord?

Matthew 7.7-8: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

This is a Promise and it is something that you can take for yourself and make it yours, personally!

The first thing to understand is: Are you saved to Jesus Christ or not? If you are not saved to Jesus Christ, every prayer except one, will NOT be heard! You must first come to the Father and ask for HIS forgiveness of your SIN and admit that you need HIS SON Jesus Christ to save you. That’s the first prayer! That will open the door to your prayers being heard by God the Father. It’s that simple!

It is after this, that we must learn how to pray and that means to pray fervently. Our time with the Lord is the most important part of being a true follower of Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord and Savior prayed so fervently that HE was sweating droplets of blood. I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to pray at that level! It is then, by this example that we should endeavor to pray, as we come before the seat of our God and our Father!

The THINGS of this world mean absolutely nothing, they are temporal at best. Our prayers should be those things that will sustain us and give us our understanding of our Lord and Savior. It is talking with our Lord, it is way beyond how we speak with others, and it’s personal (just between you and the Lord)! It is where you are open, holding nothing back, giving your all to HIM, because you love HIM, as HE loves you! It is praise and giving HIM the glory, if for nothing else than your life and the ability to rise again every morning. I find it difficult to understand, how anyone could ever be so conceited as to try and take the glory from the Lord, again…“Without HIM ye can do NOTHING.”

Psalm 8.1-9: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.”

John 3.16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”