I reached a new benchmark, though I’m still yo-yoing on my weight loss journey. I hit a new low of 229.4 pounds this week, though I gained a pound or too back and now am dropping it again as the week wore on. Still, if I can stay near 229.4 and go lower eventually, that’s nice because that makes my weight loss so far 23 pounds even and counting.

I wish I had the firmness in my diet to lose weight more swiftly, but at least what I lose, I am mostly keeping off, save for a two-three pound variance at any given time. I’m still headed in the right direction and that’s what counts, not the speed with which I lose it. Losing weight slowly but keeping it off is better than losing weight quickly, then gaining it back quickly.

But there are no shortcuts, no safe diet pills for me; with my high blood pressure, I can’t take those paths to quicker weight loss; I have to lose it the hard but honest way.

I’ve been tasked with sending out graduation invitations for a little celebration we’re throwing my wife, who finished up work on her bachelor’s degree in business management at the end of January. Of course, I’m doing this mostly by cell phone and email, since it’s too late for snail mail.

Most of the guests will be friends from shul and it’s going to be a blast. And the fact that the last session of Stan’s Prayer and Intercession study will be the same day should help put all who attend in a rather good mood for the festivities. It’s going to take place Saturday night, so it will be a sort-of havdallah thing, as well. Fun stuff

Before I started the Prayer and Intercession study Stan is teaching, my prayer life left a lot to be desired. While I prayed, I didn’t pray long or often enough to even meet my own expectations. Now, as of the past week and counting today, I reached a new achievement: six out of seven days, I’ve made time for God.

And I don’t spend this prayer time doing esoteric stuff like contemplating how fast a stone sinks, either; instead, I am concentrating on improving my relationship with the L-RD and seeking His direction for my life.

This past week, in fact, I had a really different but enjoyable experience where, during the entire hour or so I was in prayer, all I could really do is concentrate on being given a glimmer of the holiness of God. Each night, I don’t know what to expect necessarily, but I’m certainly feeling better about my pursuit of closeness to the L-RD, even though I still have plenty of room to grow.

The recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile is the latest in a chain of natural disaster tragedies that are piling up like cord wood recently, it seems. It wasn’t that long ago that the Haiti tragedy happened, with a 7.0 quake; now this.

It draws to mind the words of Yeshua about the “birth-pangs” of the final days, the days referred to in Judaism as the days of Jacob’s troubles. While all sorts of natural disasters are described, each generation, I’m sure, is faced with its own set that seem to them like a sign that the return of Messiah is near.

We know it’s nearer now than ever before, but are such quakes really signs of His coming? Who can say? However, our test as believers in the wake of any tragedy like this is to respond in compassion, rather than purely spiritually.

It’s clear that the tragedy in Haiti was one that cost many lives; once the final tally is in, that’s sure to be true in Chile as well. While it is fine to pray for those affected by this massive quake, we should look for opportunities to help those in need.

Let us respond like the good Samaritan, and look to help in practical ways, however large or small, each according to our means and opportunity. To do anything less is to close our exterior shutters to the world around us with false religious righteousness, rather than living out the compassion the L-RD has taught us by example.

One thing I can’t quite do is pray in the morning. I’m too much of a night owl.

But my prayer life has flourished when I do it in the evening; I’ve adjusted my bed time enough to make sure I don’t fall asleep without praying, and with my iPod singing me through it, I have stayed away long enough for the music to stop and God to begin to speak.

I used to try praying before bed, but would often fall asleep in the first five minutes. There’s nothing wrong with resting in Yeshua, but using Him as a sleep aid is not respecting one’s relationship to Him, either.

Prayer is essential to knowing God, and knowing God is essential to serving Him. It might sound like a disability appeal to say that I wasn’t very effective at prayer before, but I can say that while I still have a ways to grow in my prayer life, I feel for the first time in many years like I’m actually improving and making progress in learning how to recognize God’s voice when He speaks.

In drawing near to the L-RD in prayer, I’ve been naturally drawn primarily to the worship music of Messianic music artists. However, some of the longer-standing artists seem more distracting than the new generation of artists. Perhaps the songs of old standbys like Paul Wilbur and Joel Chernoff are so familiar and soothing that they sometimes make a better sleep aid than a worship and prayer aid.

My latest favorite artist is someone I pointed out to Rabbi Stan about eight months ago; he wasn’t that impressed back then, but he heard her perform at the Rabbi’s conference this winter and his opinion spun ’round to enthusiasm. It’s kind of nice to know I found her first, even though he won’t exactly admit it: Sue Samuel is a Messianic artist whose latest contribution, Songs … from the Secret Place, is one of the first full albums I bought on iTunes after buying my first official iPod… a 16GB iPod nano, fifth generation!

Along with some songs by Messianic artist Ted Pearce, one track by Paul Wilbur (Shalom Jerusalem!), and even three Christian worship tunes I enjoy … namely, Heart of Worship by Matt Redman, The More I Seek You by Kari Jobe, and Let It Rain by Michael W. Smith … I’ve developed a 46-minute Prayer and Worship playlist that really sets me in the right frame of mind for prayer.

What a help!

One of the greatest helps Rabbi Stan has suggested in terms of drawing near to the L-RD in prayer is to use praise and worship music for the first 30-45 minutes, then remaining silent in order to hear the L-RD. I’ve been surprised how well it works in terms of reaching that critical amount of time to start hearing from God.

The songs help keep one’s mind focused on the L-RD more sharply than an SEO tool. And there’s something Scriptural about staying in prayer for at least an hour in order to hear from the L-RD; after all, in the Garden on the night in which He was betrayed, Yeshua Himself came back from prayer more than once and found his talmudim asleep, and scolded them, saying, “Could you not tarry with me even a single hour?”

So even though Yeshua prayed more than once that night, it seems each session as about an hour or more in length, given that statement. And if an hour or so is good enough for Yeshua, well… that’s who our model is, right? That’s why we call Him Messiah.

I’ve never struggled with many things, be it an addiction to drugs, alcohol or even Adipex diet pills. That’s a good thing. But I was certainly surprised when the L-RD pointed out to me that Facebook was my addiction.

Still, it makes sense; I was spending an average of a couple hours a day or more on Facebook, yet neglecting things that matter far more, like prayer, writing my novel and spending more quality time with my wife and Dad. It’s odd that the addictions of others stick out like sore thumbs to you, but your own addictions are something you need a kick in the khakis to see.

How wonderful it is, though, to finally be free of it!

I have been hoping that I would be able to stick to my prayer commitment once I started Rabbi Stan’s prayer and intercession class, and while I’m not quite at “every day” status just yet, I’m well on my way and much improved in my prayer life so far. The benefits are showing.

The first week, we were told to concentrate on eliminating sin. I got a surprise from God on my first night following through on this; His priority of the sin in my life was different than I expected, and yet it was surprisingly easy to obey, give it up and not feel tempted to go back. Specifically, God told me to “eliminate Facebook.”

I’d been spending far too much time there in recent months and it was affecting my life in many negative ways, but until I spent time in deep prayer with God, I was taking it too lightly to see it for the sin it had become. Since giving up Facebook (and all other “social networking” sites, too, mind you), I’ve had more time for everything that’s really important to me… especially prayer. Heck, I’d even have time to earn a degree online… or at least another degree… were I of a mind to.

But for now, remaining a Messianic Rabbi In Training is more than enough to keep me occupied. And I’m finally developing a respectable-enough prayer life to feel like that title’s not just decorative.

As I look forward to Rabbi Stan’s new study on prayer and intercession, I’m reminded of a fact he shared from the bema once. According to some research study, the national average for the amount of time a pastor or rabbi spends in prayer each week is… about five minutes.

Not per day. Per week.

Now, to do prayer correctly, it takes time. At least an hour a day. Sometimes more. And that’s just to run out of words so that you can spend some time waiting for the L-RD to talk back to you and direct you toward His will, rather than your own.

So if the average pastor or rabbi spends only about five minutes a week actually praying, how “anointed” are his sermons, really? How God-directed are his messages?

Is it any wonder more sermons are “ripped from the headlines of today’s newspapers” than they are “inspired by the whole word of God?” The average pastor or rabbi probably spends more time browsing the day’s newspaper, or news Web site, than he does speaking with the L-RD! That means a believing sales guy selling commercial fitness equipment could easily spend more time in prayer than the man behind the bema.

Do I need to improve my own prayer life? You bet. By a lot. But I am relieved to know that, as much as I need to improve it, I am already a healthy margin better than “average.”

Some people think security comes from whole life insurance or a tidy nest-egg in the bank; but those who believe in ADONAI realize that real security comes from a close relationship with the L-RD.

That’s why I’m going to attend Rabbi Stan’s series on Prayer and Intercession which starts next Shabbat. I want to improve my prayer life so that I can hear God’s calling on my life clearly, distinguishing it from my own hopes and ambitions, so that I can know what God would have me do next in my life.

It is the L-RD who calls and ordains Messianic rabbis and ministers. I’m ready and willing to serve, but I have to know … really KNOW … that the L-RD is going ahead of me before I can pursue that goal. If I do it on my own, it will fail. If I wait on the L-RD, there’s no way it can.

The choice, really, is a no-brainer. But my prayer life needs to be deeper than its ever been, if I’m to hear Him clearly.