As I sat down this morning to have my “quiet time” with Jesus, I began organizing my thoughts concerning the things I really needed to talk to him about… Then i realized, what in the world was I doing? Was I actually presuming to come to God with an “agenda”? As if I had scheduled a planning strategy meeting with the Most High and was preparing my notes for discussion? How wrong is that?!

I can hear some of you now thinking “what’s wrong with having your prayer list of requests prepared?? Everyone does that, all the time. How else are you gonna remember everything you want to pray for…” and I hear you. I don’t mean it’s wrong to keep track of things you’ve committed your heart to pray for. I’m not talking lists, I’m talking agenda. I realized this morning that my thoughts began more about addressing my list than it was about cultivating a relationship with Jesus, and for that reason, before I even spoke my first request, before even addressing the first thing on my list, I repented. I repented for in that moment, forgetting that he wants to know me, not just be made aware of my problems.

How easy it is to forget sometimes that Christianity isn’t about reading the Bible to learn how to live a better life, it’s about being in a relationship with Jesus, a living, active relationship that changes who we are because we have spent time with him. It shouldn’t become a set of rules we have to follow in order to gain access to him, but rather because we have spent time with him because he gave us access, we learn what pleases him and we do those things, not to gain favor, but because we have favor. Just like we don’t do righteous things to become righteous, we do righteous things because we now have become the righteousness of God in him.

Lord Jesus, may I never forget you desire to know me and to be known by me. You say of course if I love you I will obey your commands, so may I lay hold of truth and understand it unto obedience, as proof of my love. Let me also cultivate that love through relationship as Holy Spirit interacts with me daily. Remind me always that you are my friend, not a concept. You are not a 10 steps program. You are not a to-do list. You are Jesus, the word who became flesh and walked among men, lived and breathed, laughed and cried. You are now as you were then, and I will not reduce you to a form or program. Let me know you rightly, worship you honestly, and seek you because I long to spend time knowing who you are. Amen.