One Thing

Mary and Martha lived with their brother Lazarus at Bethany, a village not far from Jerusalem. Jesus shows up at their house one day with his disciples, maybe just calling in on the off chance of getting dinner.Martha could be thinking "the masters here, the one who talks about serving, I could impress him". She ends up distracted. Jesus calls her name twice to get her attention.

The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. 42 One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it's the main course, and won't be taken from her."In the same spirit of Mary a King, writer, poet and a warrior writes a song, the lyrics describing how he’s feeling deep in his soul; he said "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple"

On Jesus’ last evening after he and His disciples sung a hymn they left the upper room went across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives. He is going to a garden called the oil press. That night he prayed like no one prays, so intense that He sweats blood through his pores, this has only happened to a few people in history. He wanted to share his prayer but the one thing he asked them to do they didn’t, they wanted to but couldn’t manage it for one hour.

How do we manage 'the one thing'? How can we turn our prayer life around? There is a heart to seek God built within us by God Himself. It’s a desire, a craving. It grows when exposed to God and His nature. He creates an appetite for us to seek Him more as He reveals His glory, goodness and generosity to us. I’m convinced that every follower of Jesus has a desire to seek the face of God, to choose the one thing.

What stops us? Distraction? Yea I guess, business of life? Yep. What about self sufficiency? These are all possible good reasons why we don’t choose the one thing (prayer) but I want to suggest that the main reason is we haven’t yet allowed ourselves to be exposed to His nature, which is good all the time. This reality takes place when we give ourselves the time to behold him through this amazing privilege called prayer and I guess the word prayer has become a tired word, but I’m talking about connecting to the living God not some religious routine or duty.

When we allow the desire to grow the appetite grows and the benefits make it a lifestyle.
What began as a discipline can become a passion, what begins as a discipline can become a lifestyle and what begins as a discipline can be the thing that gives you life. Prayer, seeking His face will expose you to the character and nature of your heavenly father.

The question is are you ready for the quest to seek Him, find Him and allow Him to bring revelation and His presence that will put passion in your faith and walk with God? Are we desperate enough?

There was a prayer meeting in the book of Acts I would love to have been at. I wonder what it was like? passionate, loud, desperate radicals on a revolution to change the world by bringing the Kingdom? The room shook, God showed in power and the people got their prayers answered.