Teach Us to PraySample

OUR LIVES AS A PLEASING SACRIFICE FOR HIM

In 1972, a study was published by Stanford professor Walter Mischel, which became known as The Marshmallow Experiment. Mischel and his team brought in hundreds of children ages 4 and 5. A child would be brought into a room with a chair and table with a marshmallow. The researcher told the child that he would leave the room and that if the child did not eat the marshmallow while he was out, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if they ate the first one while the researcher was out of the room, they would not get a second marshmallow.

I am reminded of this experiment when I think of prayer and fasting. We are like those kids trying to be patient and say no to something good so that we can create space for something better. It can feel like we are suffering. But when we intentionally create space for God to show up, it fulfills God's desire for us to know Him better and to live our lives as a pleasing sacrifice for Him. When we fix our attention on God and not on the material things of this world, we will be changed from the inside out. God will continually bring out the best in you.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing." So, remember to sacrifice and make room for God to move in your life so that you can bear much fruit and help grow His kingdom, power, and glory.

- Tara Tweit