Is there anyone on the planet who does this?

King David, the guy who wrote this, was as human as the rest of us. Was he telling the truth here? Who is he trying to kid?

Get this: He was telling God that he praised him seven times a day. How dumb can you get? Surely he was bright enough to know that God can count; that God also knew he was grandstanding. If it were true, why does he need to call God's attention to it?

Ok. Maybe some people do this seven times a day. Paul told the believers in Thessalonica to "pray without ceasing (I Th. 5:17)." Moreover, he used the term "without ceasing" no less than five times in his letters to describe how he remembered, how he gave thanks., etc., (yawn). Or maybe he was just using that phrase to describe his attempts at consistency.

After all, Paul struggled with sin like the rest of us. Maybe even a single, strange, repeating kind of sin (See Romans 7:15-24, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). We see these pictures in the media of the hunched backs of Muslims, praying five times a day. All men. God doesn't listen to women, right? No women. Doesn't that freak you out? Even sort of? Maybe women don't sin enough to have to pray five times a day.

Still, this freaks me out.

Let me tell you why.

This kind of repetitive religious exercise is just the kind of thing Jesus told us not to do. If we actually prayed or praised seven (or five) times a day, it would become nothing more than a religious calisthenic. Such things are no mark of true spirituality or connectedness with God.

If you actually do something like this, you should be careful. It can become a source of great spiritual pride. I mean, who else do you know that prays seven times a day? Doesn't that make you feel more "spiritual?" A more committed servant of God? I mean, look at you! Doesn't this make you some kind of spiritual giant? Isn't that how you would like others to think of you? Seven times a day?

Trust me, we're all impressed.

Let me tell you something. Even if David wasn't lying to himself or God, I have no desire whatever to emulate him. I do not see his action, or his habit, as something that is required for a solid, profound relationship with God. I find it hard to believe -- no, impossible to believe -- that God has any interest at all in the number of times a day we pray or praise him, or even how many minutes or hours we pray.

Want a measure of how close to God you are? Ask yourself how much you love the homeless guy on the street, with the sign written on a piece of cardboard box that says, "Hungry. Please help?" Ask yourself how much you are concerned about the starving babies in Africa and elsewhere. Ask yourself about how much you care about human trafficking. How much you care about people whose lives are disrupted by tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, the loss of a loved one, or a beloved pet, or maybe just the loss of a job -- and the actions you take because of it.

Our actionable love for others, or the "least of these," (Babies to be aborted? Their mothers?) more than any other measure, will tell us how close we are to God. It is the one, the only true and authentic signature that we belong to Jesus. Not our creed or our doctrine, or how consistently we follow "God's standards," or how consistently we perform our religious habits. Only our love. Just our love.

"By this, all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another." -- Jesus (John 13:35) There is nothing more useless or suffocating than a Christian theologian with all his orthodox doctrine in order and in its proper place who can't stop his car, or walk across the street to help someone in need.

Love for our neighbor? It's the most critical thing anyone can know about us. It is the cardinal credential of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Needless to say, this includes me.

-- PDM

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