How to Pray Off Procrastination
GOD'S LOVE LANGUAGE
"You may delay, but time will not." ~ William James
Time and Eternity
Working to end procrastination on my own has never worked. Never.
Why?
Because I was conditioned to respond to the "squeaky wheels" of life. I lived in response to the next knee-jerk reaction. Over and over, I sacrificed my time and opportunities to kill the noise of the world around me with good intentions as my crutch.
Always trying to please people.
Hesitating to focus on me.
Not taking ownership of my delays.
This is what procrastination looks like.
Finally, I had to ask myself...
Is my pleasing people pleasing God?
If Heaven is calling me to the deep, why am I settling for the kiddy pool?
If I don't take ownership, am I in turn relinquishing control?
Are my priorities being set by my Father or my fear?
It was only when I started to see life through the eternal lens of prayer that these self-imposed limitations began to fade away. It is the reason behind the name of my book, GOD 'n You: Finding Your Place in Forever.
Prayer opened a whole new world for me. I started to see my assignment not in the now or even in the next, but as my place in forever.
Procrastination is not about time. It's about eternity.
Breaking the Cycle
Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
~William James
Every dream unfulfilled,
every deed not done,
every assignment from Heaven cast aside or
put on hold or
rescheduled (again)
has eternal consequences.
Are you okay with that?
No? Then let us stop living weary in well doing and live instead as more than conquerors in Christ Jesus:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:29-30, New International Version
Here's how:
#1
Honor the God of Time and Eternity
COMMIT TO A DAILY TIME OF PRAYER
Stop asking God for what you are not willing to give. Time. Be respectful of HIS time and acknowledge his sovereignty as the Lord over your time. Honor prayer time like you do your job. Show up.
#2
De-Clutter Your Spirit and Your Space
DESTROY WHAT KEEPS TRYING TO DESTROY YOU
When Joshua destroyed the city of Ai, it was seen as an irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord and the Lord honored him by making the sun stand still. It is time to give your distractions and deterrents over to God in focused and intentional prayer. Call out every one of them. Lay them at the foot of the Cross. Leave them there or pray that you find the strength to do so. Let the Lord over your life manage your life.
#3
Seek the Savior's Protection
LIVE VICTORIUS, NOT VULNERABLE
For a long time, I prayed for rest when I should have been praying for protection from delays and deterrents. I finally realized why - the sense of urgency that came with these distractions made me feel needed. So, I had to start feeling needed somewhere else. When I truly saw my purpose as a desperate need
in the kingdom,
in my family,
in my work,
in my money,
and in my relationships
I began to upgrade my calling in my prayers. It went from a P.S. at the end to the first order of business after adoration and forgiveness. That can be hard to hear I know, shifting the hierarchy of your appeals for family and friends. But what if God plans to use your assignment to fulfill their needs, too? Keep the main thing the main thing.
Jesus prayed for others, but his assignment was primary because of its eternal consequences. Is yours?
Want to get procrastination off your back?
Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” ~John 12:35-36 NIV
Don't let the noise distract you. It is time to let God be God. Walk in his light.
Fear will make you think you have to fix everything and everybody.
You don't.
That's what God is for.
Y'all.... can you tell I was feelin' this one today? And we are just getting started!
Next week, we unpack how to pray for TOXIC PEOPLE!
I can't wait!
See you then!
