prayer

Be Quiet!

~ Dave Mudra ~ Leave a comment

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” this is one of my favorite quotes which. Blaise Pascal said centuries ago, and somehow, it feels even more true today. Think about it—how often do you reach for your phone the moment you’re bored? Why is it so uncomfortable to just sit still, alone with your thoughts? Pascal believed the answer wasn’t just about habit—it was about avoiding the truth.

He argued that when we sit quietly and step away from distractions, we’re forced to confront life’s deepest questions: What’s my purpose? Am I truly happy? Am I at peace with God? And let’s be honest—those questions can be intimidating. So instead, we distract ourselves. We dive into work, entertainment, and social media, anything to avoid the silence. But does it really work? Pascal didn’t think so, and the Bible agrees.

Paul says in Romans 1:18-20 that the truth about God is plain to us—His power and divine nature are clear in the world around us. But here’s the catch: people suppress that truth. Why? Because facing it means reckoning with who we are and how much we depend on God. That’s uncomfortable, so we run from it, filling our lives with noise and busyness instead.

Yet Scripture consistently shows that the solution isn’t more distractions; it’s stillness. In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Stillness allows us to see reality clearly—not just who God is, but who we are in relation to Him. And Jesus modeled this perfectly. Over and over in the Gospels, we see Him retreating to quiet places to pray, like in Matthew 14:23, where He went alone to a mountainside after a long day of ministry. If even Jesus needed time alone with the Father, how much more do we?

But solitude isn’t just about rest; it’s also transformative. In Lamentations 3:28-29, the writer encourages us to “sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him… there may yet be hope.” Sitting quietly forces us to face our pride, our sins, and our fears, but it also opens the door to humility, hope, and renewal.

Pascal’s insights also tie directly to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 16:25: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Losing your life, in this sense, means letting go of the superficial self—the one that clings to comfort, distractions, and worldly success. When we lose that part of ourselves and embrace the truth, we find real life: peace with God and purpose in Him.

The problem is, distractions come with a cost. Pascal warned that diversions aren’t just innocent time-fillers—they’re a way to avoid dealing with life’s big questions. Jesus put it even more bluntly in John 3:19-20: “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light… Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” It’s easier to stay busy than to let the truth expose what’s in our hearts. But the more we avoid it, the more restless and anxious we become.

So, what’s the way forward? How do we embrace the kind of solitude that Pascal and Scripture say is essential? Here are a few practical steps:
1. Start Small. Spend just 5-10 minutes a day sitting quietly. Use that time to pray or reflect on verses like Psalm 62:1: “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”
2. Turn Off the Noise. Create boundaries with your phone and social media. Try sitting alone without reaching for a screen or filling the space with background noise.
3. Ask the Hard Questions. In your quiet moments, be honest with yourself: What truths am I avoiding? What distractions are keeping me from God?
4. Follow Jesus’ Example. Make time regularly to step away from the chaos of life. Jesus often retreated to solitary places to connect with God—and in those moments, He found strength and clarity.

Pascal’s challenge is simple but profound: Can we sit quietly, alone, and face the truth? Scripture assures us that when we do, we don’t face it alone. God meets us there, in the stillness, offering the peace and purpose we so desperately seek.

So, take a moment. Turn off the noise. Sit in the quiet. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but in losing the distractions, you’ll gain something far greater: the presence of God and the life He created you to live.

Spiritual Law – It Works Like Gravity

~ Dave Mudra ~ Leave a comment

Think for a moment about the natural world around us. You know it as well as I do—gravity never fails. If you jump, you will fall. If you plant seeds in good soil, they will grow. If you put your hand in fire, it will burn you. These are not mere guesses or superstitions. These are laws, predictable and unchanging, woven into the very fabric of creation. And just as surely as the natural world is governed by these physical laws, the spiritual realm operates by unshakable spiritual laws.

What many call “commands” in the Bible are not arbitrary rules given by a stern taskmaster; they are God’s loving guidance about these laws. He is not demanding obedience to make life difficult—He is showing us how to avoid harm and experience blessing. When He says, “Don’t do this,” He’s saying, “I see the cliff ahead, and I don’t want you to fall.” When He warns against sin, He’s not withholding something good—He’s steering you away from something that will destroy you. Every spiritual law He reveals is born from a heart that loves us more than we can imagine. This is why you can trust God’s goodness: His laws exist to bless you, protect you, and lead you to the abundant life He intends for you.

Jesus Himself teaches us about these laws. In John 15:7, He says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” At first glance, you might think this is a reward—something God gives to the super-spiritual. But Jesus isn’t talking about rewards; He’s showing us how spiritual laws work. Abiding in Him is not a requirement to earn God’s favor—it’s the connection that allows His life to flow into us. Just like gravity pulls a falling object to the ground, abiding in Christ releases the flow of His power, blessings, peace, and favor into your life.

Picture a vine and its branches. The branch doesn’t strain to bear fruit. It doesn’t work hard to prove itself worthy. It simply stays connected to the vine. The vine does the work. The vine provides the life. And as long as the branch remains connected, the flow is constant, and fruit is inevitable. That’s what abiding in Christ looks like. The Holy Spirit—God’s one and only source—flows into you like floodgates wide open. Everything in the vine flows through you: all the blessings, all the favor, all the love, and all the power.

But here’s where things can get tricky. The flow never stops on God’s end. The floodgates are wide open. Yet sometimes, we don’t experience the blessings He intends because we block the flow. Imagine a garden hose, pouring water at full pressure. If you kink the hose, the flow slows to a trickle—or stops altogether. Fear, anxiety, unbelief, and disobedience are the kinks that crimp the flow of the Spirit.

Think about fear for a moment. Fear tightens your grip on the hose. It says, “I don’t trust God to handle this.” Anxiety does the same thing—it’s faith in the wrong direction, trusting that something bad will happen. Unbelief shuts the hose entirely, refusing to trust God’s Word. And disobedience? Disobedience is stepping out of alignment with the flow altogether. God’s Spirit never stops flowing, but we step out from under the blessing when we choose our own way.

Now here’s the good news: you can remove the kinks. God doesn’t ask you to “fix it all” or “work harder”—He simply asks you to trust Him. Replace fear with trust. Replace anxiety with prayer. Replace unbelief with faith. Replace disobedience with alignment to His Word. Every step you take to align yourself with God is like unkinking that hose. The flow of the Spirit begins to rush through you again—bringing peace where there was chaos, joy where there was sorrow, and provision where there was lack.

God’s laws are consistent. They don’t play favorites. Just as gravity will pull anyone down, spiritual laws will work for anyone who abides in Christ and aligns with His ways. The gardener doesn’t scream at the soil to make seeds grow; he simply creates the right conditions. And the seeds grow naturally because of the laws God put into place. The same is true for you: your part is to stay connected and create the right conditions. When you remain in Christ and remove the blockages, the fruit will come naturally, and the fruit isn’t just “spiritual success”; it’s real, tangible change in your life. You’ll experience peace where there was chaos, joy where there was sorrow, and provision where there was lack. God’s blessings will overflow, not only for you but also for those around you.

Faith operates in a similar way. When you speak words, you trigger spiritual laws and create physical changes. Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.” Faith isn’t about striving to prove your spirituality—it’s about aligning your words and actions with God’s spiritual laws that govern all reality. When you release faith through your words, you activate these spiritual laws, and things begin to change.

Let this truth settle deep in your heart: the spiritual realm is not just real—it’s more real than the physical world. The spiritual realm is the birthplace of everything you see, touch, and experience. God spoke, and the universe came into existence. That same spiritual reality governs what happens in your life. When you align yourself with the spiritual laws God has set in motion, you are tapping into the source of all power, all life, and all blessing.

If you jump, you will fall. If you abide, you will bear fruit—fruit that brings supernatural peace, abundant provision, unshakable joy, and overwhelming love. And the best part? This isn’t reserved for a few spiritual elites. It’s available to anyone. The floodgates are open, and the flow of God’s Spirit is constant. All you have to do is stay connected, trust His goodness, and remove the blockages.

Because the laws of the Spirit don’t fail—because God’s love never fails.

All Things are Mine

~ Dave Mudra ~ Leave a comment

Jesus said unto him, “If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.” Jesus said some things that are hard to believe. He said that all things are possible to him that believes. He did not say that some things are possible. Do you believe that all things are possible to you? Isn’t the very foundation of faith to believe what the Word of God says even when it seems impossible? Paul said in Romans “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Again we are told to stretch our faith and believe that God will freely give us all things. Since these things are “freely given” then we do not need to do anything to receive them. Peter tells us “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” We have already (past tense) been given everything that we need in life. That is why Jesus told us to not worry about anything at all. We can trust is God’s goodness and the veracity of His Word.

In Mark 11 again Jesus tells us that when we pray to believe that we have already received what we are praying for. Why? Because, as believers in Jesus we have already been given all things. Most of us pray as if we don’t already have what we are praying for. It’s as if the thing that we desire is separate from us and we are trying to attract it into our life through prayer. Where is the faith in that? God doesn’t need to be persuaded to bless us. Jesus already paid for all of our blessings on the cross a long time ago. When we pray, have faith that the Word of God is true – regardless of how impossible it looks.