Excuses Why Our Generation Skips Private Prayer....

Jesus clearly stated in Matthew 6:6, "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." This is one of the most talked about subjects in Christian circles yet it is one of the most seldom practiced at home. Why have we become so apathetic to talking with our Father in heaven? What makes us skip and create excuses to not enter our prayer closets? Is prayer a form for us or a lifestyle? Can we return as a generation to spending private quality time with the Lord again? Do YOU make excuses to avoid time in prayer?

I believe these are some of the more frequent excuses our generation has made to the area of private prayer....

1. Prayer Is Uninteresting. Give us hours and hours and hours of worship concerts, worship festivals, worship music, worship celebrations, worship awakenings but can I ask where is the same hunger for diligent PRAYER? More than anything, where is the passion for private prayer??

2. I Pray On The Go. We suppress our guilt-ridden conscious by praying on the go. We have enough time to swing by Starbucks and grab coffee and a bagel and along the ride we chew out words of requests to the Lord. We say we have prayed when we stand at a red light and utter ten words of thanks all the while sending five various text-messages to friends. If you want to KNOW the Father you must spend TIME with the Father. Prayer is not a drive-thru menu it's a place of separation, consecration, and dedication.

3. Busy! Busy! Busy! We love being busy! We have school engagements, church meetings, conferences, social parties, work obligations, college tests and on and on. We somehow are still able to fit all those events into our day yet we have dismal effort to find private time with the Father.

4. I Am Fatigued. More and more people are becoming weary not only physically but emotionally and spiritually. Our body screams at us to sleep one more hour and not to wake up. It has manipulating ways to make us go to bed without hearing the Father. The more we say yes to our flesh the more we say no to our spirit.

5. Prayer Starts and Ends in Church. If our passion is Jesus then let's meet with him privately. We love moving our lips during times of prayer in church but many times our hearts may be far from the One we are praying to. Church is a catalyst to keep our prayer life growing it shouldn't be our start and end point.

6. Prayer is Not MY Thing. Oh Really??! Prayer has never been any man's "thing". It has always been the tool to undo the flesh inside of us so that the Second Adam-Jesus Christ can rule and reign in every area of our lives. The Bible is not a buffet of teachings where I will take the blessings and let the praying be done by the leaders. Each of us gives personal account. Let's make prayer OUR thing in our generation!

7. I Get TOO Distracted. This is exactly why Jesus said to find a place and shut the door! Find a place and make the time to shut out the distractions. No iPhones, no texts, no emails, no books, no internet web browsing, shut it out. If you date your wife or husband and do all those other things while you are out, sooner or later it will cause awkward conversations. Dedicate the time solely to the Lord.

8. Pray FOR Me. As I travel the world, I notice more and more believers asking ministers, missionaries, pastors to pray FOR them. What's wrong with that, right? Well, when I follow up and ask, "Did you pray about it yet?", the reply usually is , "No not yet." We have a DIRECT line to the Father! Let's start using it. This is why Jesus suffered on the cross. This is why we have complete union with the Father again. Start talking with the FATHER. He is waiting for you.

9. I Cannot Pray Long. God is not desiring you to pray long prayers. He wants you to KNOW Him. It's not about what we tell God but what is God telling us? Does the Father know you or does He know about you? Stay in the secret place rain or shine. God always has something to tell you.

10. Just Pure Lazy. We can have an endless list of excuses yet one of the most underlining problems is pure laziness. That's right- LAZY! Our generation has a problem with responsibility and honest ethics. No one wants to admit and say, "Hey everyone! I'm lazy and really don't feel like it.". We must bring even our laziness to the Lord. Ask Him to give us the courage, will, and desire to be responsible enough to feed our souls and not blame pastors, church leaders, and ministers that they are not doing enough. It's time we stop being lazy Christians and start spending time with the Father one on one.

"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." -John 12:26

Twitter- @PaulMuzichuk

10 Ways A Husband Can Be KIND To His Wife

Let's open of the word of God and see what Apostle Peter had to say recorded in 1 Peter 3:7, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them(your wife) with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered." Every Christian husband wants their prayers to be heard and answered but the Lord is warning husbands in this verse, DON'T MISTREAT YOUR WIFE! Your wife is your co-equal and she deserves to be honored and understood with kind affection. To help you jump start your motivation to serve your wife, here are 10 ways a husband can be kind towards his wife....

1. Clean The Kitchen. It wont take you long and it will put a huge smile on your wife's face. Clean the table off, wash the dishes, sweep and mop the floor and then tell her you loved doing it. (Major brownie points)

2. Pick Up Your OWN Clothes. Your wife is not your slave. You have two feet and two hands. If you have enough muscle to bench press 175lbs at the gym, then you have enough strength to lift dirty underwear, dirty socks, and sweaty clothes into the laundry basket.

3. Study The Bible Personally. As Christian men, we must understand that when we personally study the Word of God it begins to change our attitude in the home and in our relationships. Kindness is found in Jesus and if we study His teachings we certainly will grow the fruit of kindness. In many Christian marriage studies, wives have indicated they would feel more loved when their husbands have a dedicated study time in the Bible and prayer.

4. Cuddle With Your Wife. Wives want to feel the loving and kind embrace of their spouse. Husbands: when you to decide to cuddle its not about YOU its about HER! Stop thinking it must always lead to sex. Wives must feel honored and cared in all respects. This will certainly add to your love bank with her.

5. Say THANK YOU Often. Even if you have been married for many years, it should not stop us as husbands in giving thanks and appreciation to our wife. Every chance you get affirm her talents, character, good works, and use that to say THANK YOU! Being kind is not a sissy type of man but a man who respects his wife in a caring and loving way. If you want to have the aroma of Christ, use the words THANK YOU often towards your wife.

6. Have Daddy Days. Many couples have babies, toddlers, and growing children in their homes. Husbands- Take a few days each month and let your wife rest or go shopping or go out with her friends. Take the kids out for a full day not just saying hi to the kids and crashing on the couch. Experience the load of changing diapers, washing faces, replenishing milk bottles, and wiping tears away from crying toddlers. Your children will love it and your wife will certainly think you are the greatest husband and daddy.

7. LISTEN When Your Wife Talks With You. I read in a book once that says the word 'listen' has the same letters in it as the word 'silent'. When we listen to our wife we show kindness and care. We are attentive, we are focused on her needs, we make an intentional effort to hear the entire story no matter how many different angles it starts going into. Learn to listen to your wife.

8. Actually SMILE! It's not that hard to show loving graciousness like a genuine smile. Some men in the Slavic culture think its better to show a sour face and a serious look ALL THE TIME. God designed us to SHOW emotion and affection and the best place to start is with your wife. Make a diligent effort to greet her with a smile!

9. Scrub The Bathrooms. It may seem like the "woman's job" but I have not yet found a foundational scripture to defend that case. I DID find many scriptures for men to be loving towards their wives and that we have been created equal to share each others burdens. Husbands, if you never cleaned your bathrooms take time and try it. Scrub the inner layer of the toilet bowl, the shower tiles, the garbage can, wipe the hair and small particles of filth on the ground, wash the floor, use bleach, wipe the windows and then after you are done you can share with your wife your experience. It's a great tool to win even more brownie points.

10. Tell Her You LOVE HER! We as husbands have lack in this department. We KNOW that we love our wives but they need to HEAR our affirmation towards them. Don't be cheap on your words for your wife. Lavish her with words of encouragement and love. Tell her you love her in the middle of your day, tell her she is beautiful, tell her how important she is to you, tell her how wonderful a mother and spouse she is to you and the family. As men, we crave encouragement from our spouses but if we are cheap in our words towards them we shouldn't be harsh when we receive the same. Speak the words 'I LOVE YOU' often and in many ways to your wife.

This list should serve as a great motivation to start showing ways to be kind and caring towards your God-given gift- your wife. Serve her!

Twitter: @PaulMuzichuk

Being KIND in a CRUEL World

What would it be like if YOU woke up every morning and your husband or your wife or your parents or your brothers or your sisters or your friends or those you meet along the day's journey made an intentional effort every single day to be kind towards you? How would you feel? What type of day would you most likely have? Would the extra effort to show kindness brighten your day? Would you feel the Father's love poured out on yourself? How amazing would it be to feel, experience, and know that those around you are making intentional ways to be kind and show kindness towards you?

The Bibles says in Proverbs 11:17 (ESV), "A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself." Another translation (NLT) says it this way, "Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you."

• The primitive root word for kind or kindness in the verse above is chacad which literally means to be good, to be kind, and to show kindness to oneself. 

What an amazing verse in the Bible! Not only do you bless those around you when you make a diligent effort to be kind BUT the verse says it BENEFITS or REWARDS the one who is kind! That's powerful!

The reality in 2014 is that most people by nature are cruel. No one wants to even think that. No one wants to come out and admit, "Yes, I am cruel!". The word cruel sounds so blunt and hurtful but let's just look at a few synonyms related to it. Words that portray cruel are bitter, harsh, painful, spiteful, hateful, unkind. We shy away from directly saying that which lurks inside the dark areas of our hearts. Our hope is found in Proverbs 11:17 because we are given a choice. We can choose to be kind or we can choose to be cruel. We can choose to hurt ourselves or we can choose to reward ourselves through a lifestyle of kindness. God gives you a choice. Choose kindness!

 To help you jump-start your decision to be kind today and in the days to come these following suggestions may be helpful to you to choose to be kind....

1. Write a sticky-note of encouragement. Be specific.
2. Make an intentional effort to call a friend and just tell them you were thinking of them today. Pray over the phone for them. You will be amazed at the results.
3. Write a heartfelt email to your spouse, family, or friend. Be specific.
4. Text a "thank you" to someone who has really blessed you. Be specific. 
5. Sow a book, CD, or even a small gift to someone you have never sent one.
6. Call your Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, In-laws and just tell them you love them. Be specific. 
7. Pay for breakfast, lunch or dinner and treat someone to a meal. Relationships are priceless. 
8. Husbands: ASK for a honey-do list and try to actually finish it. Your wife will feel loved! 
9. Wives: Food is one of the best medicines for men. Find a unique recipe that fits the taste of your spouse. He will feel loved, respected, and extremely happy. 
10. Siblings: Take one of your sisters or brothers and spend a full day with them. Rebuild relationship. Go travel together, invest time together. 
11. Parents: Kindness to children is needed! If you feel cruelty they feel it twice more. Just spend TIME. Carve the time out. Make it a priority. 
12. Bless your spiritual fathers, mothers, friends who invest Godly influence into you with a monetary blessing. Random blessings produces encouragement. Be generous to those who care for you! 

Choose Kindness! 

Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulMuzichuk