Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God's promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.
~ Ellen G. White, "The Great Controversy, 600
It's absolutely necessary for me to start my day with prayer and worship! If I don't start my day with God, I can guarantee you that it's not going to be the type of day I look forward to.
Often my first prayer of the day is sent heavenward before I even rise from my bed, because God has become such an important part of my life. Life without God would be for me like a ship without a rudder, or a car without a steering wheel. I want God to always be my Pilot!
Daily answers to prayer are my greatest joy! For example, I'm not very tolerant of a bad attitude, and when I wake up grumpy, I know that I'm not going to want to deal with that all day. My solution is to pray and ask God to put me in a better frame of mind so that my grumpiness won't ruin my whole day. You know, He has never failed to answer that prayer for me!
So often I wish that I was better at showing God my gratitude for His guidance,and protection, and especially His unconditional love, by resisting temptation and walking only in His footprints. Too often I fall, and must ask Him to pick me up once again, - and He always does!
I think for me, His unconditional love has been the greatest gift to me personally, mostly because I grew up with love that was conditional on the right behavior or the right opinions, or whatever it took to fit the mold that someone else thought I should fit into. The was no room for individuality or personal choices.
God is so much better than that! He gives us the choice to follow Him daily, or to go our own way! What more could we want? God loves us enough to let us go, if that's what we want. I'm so thankful to know that He will never let go, unless I absolutely pull away from Him!
Lord, please help me to never pull away!
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41.
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