Muscle Memory - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 26, 2021

Muscle memory can be very dangerous.

In the natural world, it seems like a good thing. After all, muscle memory is what allows you to get on a bike after years of not even looking at a bicycle and pedal with the same confidence you once had. Muscle memory allows a runner who hasn't hit the trail in months to get right back into the swing of things - arms and legs pumping as if she never missed a day.

However, in our walk with God, muscle memory can become a hindrance. Indeed, a stumbling block to our spiritual growth. This is because muscle memory can cause us to forget what the Lord has taught us during our challenges.

Take for example, you had an exam coming and spent a lot of time praying while you studied. As you took practice tests, you'd literally ask the Lord for answers and listen to that still voice to discern the answers for you. You eventually took the exam, applying the same approach - pray and seek God's voice for answers. With God's help, you passed and gave Him glory and praise.

Three months later, however, you're at your summer internship, faced with a task that's mind-numbingly difficult. You're racking your brain trying to come up with a solution. You hit up Google and start searching for possible ways to solve the problem. You get advice from a mentor and maybe even speak to your boss.

Did you at any point speak to God?

That's the problem with muscle memory. Often times, despite what God has taught us, when we're in a pinch, we go back to doing things the way we did when we were in the world and hadn't started our walk with the Savior.

We've got to be careful to not fall back on the ways and attitudes of our past. They cause us to ignore the role God wants to play and is capable of playing in our lives. In fact, one could argue that this reliance on muscle memory is pride - the absence of humility. A belief that we are capable of creating and finding solutions to the challenges we face.

As children of God, however, we must remember James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. This means, good things come from God therefore, go to Him to get them.

We also must remember that forgetting our God can bring curses. Same with thinking we can rely upon ourselves or others. Jeremiah 17:5 - This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

Let us obey the instruction contained in Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Lord forgive us for thinking and behaving pridefully. Pride was the original sin - it caused Lucifer to think it could be equal to You. May we no longer ignore the paramount role You play in our lives by relying on 'muscle memory' to get us through difficult times. Please Lord, we call on You for grace to submit everything about ourselves to You for Your leading as we are Your sheep and You are our Shepherd. IJMN, Amen.

Please join us for today's Praise & Pray fellowship at Noon EST. As usual, we will spend 25 minutes in worship, 25 minutes in praying for others and the remaining 10 minutes of the hour will be spent as the Holy Spirit leads each of us. I pray you will be further enriched by the hour spent in God's presence.