Annie
Scriptures Psalm 4:8 Psalm 31:14-15; 19 Ephesians 1:1-8
Night prayers bring our focus upon God as we prepare for sleep, invoking His blessing upon us, reminding ourselves that He alone is the One who makes us dwell in safety, night and day. God is always, forever, totally and with extravagant generosity focussed upon us, and delights when we enjoy and recognise His generosity.
From the depths of my Anglican roots, in my prayers, I continually recall the phrase “for the night is at hand and the day is far spent”, the old language for the day being over. Today I was struck so forcibly by the concept of our time being spent, like currency. And I had to ask the question, what have I purchased today, what do I purchase each and every day, with this God given currency?
Time, it seems, has always rushed past. We comment on this so frequently, bemoaning its speed, blaming the hustle and bustle of our modern society that seeks to constantly speed up everything. Yet, even back in the seventeenth century, Andrew Marvell wrote of “time’s winged chariot” hurrying near, at his back. The concept of time chasing us through each day is one that has plagued humanity since time itself began.
And our enemy loves to persuade us to keep bemoaning this seemingly ever increasing velocity, to keep our eyes firmly fixed on how much time we have wasted as we go about our daily lives. He so often wins in this deceitful game he plays, because we can physically see the sun rise, reach its daily zenith and then set below the horizon. We get fooled by his mendacious ploys and measure our achievements against the background of time’s incessant passing.
But, how does God want us to view time? As a constant reminder of our own mortality and what we fail to achieve before we die in this world? Or as a gift, granted to us through His lavish generosity? For this is indeed what time is, a finite, yet so precious gift.
From His infinite, extraordinary storehouse, God holds time in His Hands, safely and securely. Time does not slip through His Fingers like sand, unaccounted for or wasted. God is extravagantly generous with the time He gives us, exceedingly patient with us as we learn to use this amazing gift in the way that He wants us to use it.
Time is His creation and He has every second already planned. God has a purpose for every soul He has created, an allotted timespan for each of us to achieve whatever it is that He sets before us. Though how we spend this precious currency of His is our choice.
Will we lay ourselves bare on the altar of His perfect will for us? Or will we see His plan as fantasy, nonsense, unfit for this 21st century lifestyle we are surrounded by? Will we squander what He offers us all and trade it for a life that refuses to recognise the infinite joy and wonder that exists in eternity with our God who has so freely, yet at such cost to Himself, created this gift He gives us?
Our times are in God’s Hands alone, and we can trust Him with every moment of what time has been allotted to us. He doesn’t mock us, He doesn’t dangle a carrot and then snatch it away. This gift of time that He gives to everyone is precious and fragile, it can vanish like the mist on an autumn morning, or we can revel in every second that we can spend with Him, in His presence as we make this journey through time. Whatever our activity, whatever necessary daily routines we have to perform, whatever the distractions, time in His presence is always, lavishly available for us.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing, wonderful, extraordinary generosity in everything You gift to us. In awe and worship we give You thanks in Jesus name, by the power of Holy Spirit. Amen
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