PRACTICE
Prayer: Lord, we need self discipline today to do what You have patiently and repeatedly taught us.
Scripture: You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD Who sanctifies you. Leviticus 20:8 NASB
My daughter Emily loves to play the piano. Thanks to her wonderful teacher, Karen and the Suzuki method of learning to play, she can play some very beautiful songs after just three short years of lessons. The problem is that Emily does not love to practice. You see there is a big difference in playing and practicing. Playing means you play songs that you know, songs you are working on right now without replaying the sections where you stumble or have problems. Playing is leisurely, you enjoy it, and you tend to ignore the sections or notes that you mess up and just keep on going as if they do not exist.
Practice is a whole other ballgame. When you practice you go over songs that you have already learned with the intent of keeping them fresh and polished. You play over small sections of songs over and over again where you have problems. When you practice, it usually does not sound as good and is not as easy or enjoyable as when you are just playing. Practice takes time, dedication and patience. If we do not practice, we forget what we have learned.
The tough spots we worked hard to conquer become difficult again and sometimes we have to relearn the whole song – or lesson – all over again. Many times it is harder to learn the second time because your mind may trick you into believing that you cannot do it again. If you think about it too much, you psych yourself out all together and it gets worse instead of better.
Emily had learned a Minuet perfectly after months of hard work, but she failed to practice it after she moved on to new songs. When Karen asked to hear it at a lesson a few weeks later, Emily could not play it. Sternly but lovingly Karen said, “I do not like re-teaching songs you have already learned.”
That exchange started me thinking about the number of times God has had to re-teach me because I had not put into practice the lessons He had taught me. Even tough lessons that I struggled through – some I thought would kill me. But after learning the lesson I somehow did not commit it to everyday life and the skill became dull. When I was called on to use it again I stumbled through the situation like Emily trying to recall her Minuet.
If we learn something from God’s Word or an experience He leads us through, we must put the lesson into practice often so it becomes our nature when we are called on to use it. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” My prayer for you is that you practice your lessons.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]