If You Want a Better Life STOP PRAYING

     Do I have your attention yet? I know this title certainly grabbed my attention the first time I encountered it, on Facebook, in a post by The John Galt Project. For those of you who don't know "Who is John Galt?" I highly suggest you check out the nearest library for a copy of Atlas Shrugged. In the meantime, allow me to enlighten you on the subject of this post, this little book of the Post title by Mark Quam.
     Now Mark is a previously published author and successful entrepreneur who has started seven companies. So by earthly standards, nearly every one of us would consider him a success. Since so many people in this world are striving for success, myself included, I decided to request my free copy of his book and see what he had to say.
     His premise is that many people spend their entire lives "praying" for success, but never taking any steps to accomplish it. As his title suggests, he proposes that rather than do something unfruitful like "praying," the person who wants to be successful should set about to make changes in their life that will cause them to be what they want to be.
        He states, " . . . your life purpose is to become all you are capable of becoming." (p. 10) Is that in line with what a Christian should be striving for? I would argue that yes, we are to become all we are capable of becoming. The Ecclesiastical writer said to do whatever we set our hand to with all our might (9:10). We are told in the New Testament that "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. Over and over we read encouragement to "Press on," "Strive," etc. But we as Christians have to think about becoming all we can in light of service to God, rather than in service to self.
     To this end, we should, just as Mr. Quam suggests, NOT ONLY pray, but be active and growing. Think about the first century Christians. Did they devote themselves to prayer? Certainly. We are told so over and over. But is that ALL they did? Certainly not. They worked and grew and helped others gain access to what God wants for each of us, salvation. Can you honestly argue that anything else is truly "becoming all you are capable of becoming?" Nope. At least not in God's eyes.
     Mr. Quam has some excellent suggestions on how to accomplish this growth, and that is why I am writing this post, to share his ideas.  He advocates Five Daily Disciplines, which I'll share in a moment. But it was his challenge at the beginning that really got me thinking, and was the most beneficial to me. See if you agree. His challenge was to write down the names of 3 people you really admire, then list 5-7 attributes of those people that really impress you. Then turn it around, three people you do not like, and 5-7 attributes they possess that really bother you. Then, examine yourself. List the attributes about yourself you admire, and honestly list what you don't like. This self-examination made me realize that some of the same things I had listed as not liking about others were issues I had myself. OUCH! This kind of self-inspection is a Biblical concept. Consider 2 Corinthians 13:5 where we are told to "test yourselves" and "examine yourselves." So I would encourage each person reading this blog, Christian or not, to complete this exercise and see if you don't learn a little something about yourself. Also look at James 1:23-25 to see the mirror we are to base our examination upon.
     As for the Five Daily Disciplines, they are relatively straight-forward, and all in line with what a Christian should be doing. The first is to read 30 minutes a day of serious material. If we spent 30 minutes a day in God's Word, how much stronger would we be as Christians? How much more likely is it that we would be "ready to give a defense" when the occasion arises? 1 Peter 3:15
     Secondly, Mr. Quam says we should exercise our bodily daily. Third, we are to eat healthily. Both of these fall under the category of respecting what God gave us, and treating our body as the temple it is.
    Fourth, he says we need to make the right decision and stick to it . . . all the time. Even if it is a little tiny decision, choose the best path at all times. Still in line with God's Word.
    Fifth, Journal ten minutes a day, recording how you did with each of the 4 previous disciplines, as well as including one positive experience in your day, and one random act of kindness that you performed. This makes you accountable to yourself. If you are actually tracking how you are doing on a daily basis, you are more likely to accomplish what you set out to do.
    As he states on p. 24, "Repeating positive behavior 365 days a year for the rest of our lives is the only way of reaching your hopes and dreams." Sounds a lot like the message of 1 Corinthians 15:58 and Revelation 2:10 to me.
     I probably didn't take this book the way that the author intended, but still found it very beneficial.
How 'bout you? Do you see his point of view? Do you see mine? Do you agree with either? Sound off!