There is an Islamic saying which goes, "Remembrance of God is the forgetting of self." I like that! Now, before you sound my heresy from the rooftops, let's really break that phrase down. Could that statement still be true for a Christian standpoint, though it may be an Islamic saying? It's not even Islamic doctrine; it is only a saying.

Islam says this to mean that repeating the name of "Allah" (the God) is the best way you can combat selfishness, and direct attention to God. It is more a ritual of the mystical Muslims (Sufis), but there is a dimension of this which would serve Christians well to pay closer attention to. It is a call to remembering God more throughout the day.

I am an incredibly selfish man, and I could learn a lot from the phrase, "Remembrance of God is the forgetting of self."

Might God's answer to my frequent prayer, "How do I become less selfish?" just be, "PC, remember me."

I am greatly connected to this phrase today. I wonder if it is possible to remember God more throughout my day. I wonder if the name of Abba could be on my lips more throughout the day. I DO believe the name of Jesus is more powerful than we often remember. I wonder if I could be more mindful throughout the day to say the name of 'Jesus' or 'Abba' or 'God'...and in so doing, forget myself, if even for only a moment.

One moment focused on Daddy is far better than years focused on myself.

So I will go about remembering God that I may forget myself. The name of Abba will be on my lips more often.

This shows how wonderful a daily discipline of saying the name(s) of God throughout the day makes us forget ourselves for a moment. All I know for sure is that even just sitting here in the coffee shop, saying the name of Abba gives me even just a second of pleasure to know, for that one second, I was focused on God and not myself.

It does a selfish man's heart very good.