Carpe Diem

The film “Dead Poet’s Society” is a story of an English teacher’s attempt to challenge a class of 1950’s post-depression school boys to grab hold of the opportunities life presents them. In that film, an old Latin phrase was resurrected. “Carpe Diem” means “seize the day”. It refers to living life to the fullest, to get the most out of each day. That concept is held up in the Bible when Paul wrote, ‘Make the most of every opportunity”. Of the many areas for me to seize today it seems that I need to make the most out of my prayer time with God. I am constantly fascinated that thanks to the work of Christ on the cross, every believer has the opportunity to enter into the throne room of God. What a tragedy it would be if that opportunity was ignored. Our human propensity toward preoccupation with activities and responsibilities has a negative effect on our prayer time. I need to create space in my life each day for God to act. If I do not create that space, that time will for sure fill up with other things. This all means I need to shelter space for Him. It matters because we matter to God. Martin Luther once defined prayer as a climbing up of the heart unto God. E.M. Bounds in writing about prayer said, “Prayer is the contact of a living soul with God. In prayer, God stoops to kiss man, to bless man, and to aid in everything that God can devise or man need.” E. Stanley Jones wrote that prayer is a “Time exposure of the soul to God” and Samuel Zwemer brought us the concept that prayer is the “gymnasium of the soul.” We have the invitation let’s “Carpe Diem”.