Prayer

This past weekend, Chris and I met up with a large group of people associated with the Navigators in the bay area. We spent a long time sitting in a circle sharing stories about what God is up to in our lives. Many of them were a lot older than we are and have experienced God work in ways we can only imagine. We heard incredible stories of people coming to faith in Christ, marriages being restored, and prayers being answered.

One story in particular got my attention. Well, maybe it wasn't so much a story as a statement thrown out there in the midst of our discussion. Someone said, "You know, I started praying for ______ to happen within this ministry back in the 80s and it just happened last year! Isn't God amazing!"

Well, I had a few thoughts about this. 1) This guy's faith is incredible that he would petition God for the same thing for twenty years. And after twenty years of prayer he would still consider God to be faithful. 2) My faith is not like this. My prayers are not like this.

I know I'm not suppose to compare my spiritual walk to anyone else's. But sometimes it's helpful to take stock of how you're really walking. It's easy to fall off track and start leaning on your own understanding. This meeting was a little bit of a wake up call.

I try to pray. I know I pray at least once a day. But how much of myself do I put into my prayers? Is it all of me or just the part of my brain that's awake at 6:30 in the morning? Is my heart even paying attention? Is my spirit really connecting with God when I pray? Do I just give him lip service? (I'm feeling pretty ugly right now . . .)

And what about having perseverance in bringing things before the Lord? Scripture says He knows what we need even before we ask Him, and yet He tells us to pray without ceasing! In all honesty, if I were asking God for something after twenty years, I'd probably just go do it myself. But that is NOT the way He wants me to act! He wants full obedience . . . complete dependence on Him.

And how would I depend completely on God if I am not in prayer? Isn't prayer the very way we communicate with Him? If I can't hear from God how do I know what to do? If I don't bring my concerns before Him, then how do I receive His peace?

If I'm not in prayer . . . I'm not depending on Him. Yikes! Isn't that the most terrifying thought!

I'd like to grow in the area of prayer. I've been reminded of it's power and I'm inspired to depend on God once again for everything.

This past weekend, Chris and I met up with a large group of people associated with the Navigators in the bay area. We spent a long time sitting in a circle sharing stories about what God is up to in our lives. Many of them were a lot older than we are and have experienced God work in ways we can only imagine. We heard incredible stories of people coming to faith in Christ, marriages being restored, and prayers being answered.

One story in particular got my attention. Well, maybe it wasn't so much a story as a statement thrown out there in the midst of our discussion. Someone said, "You know, I started praying for ______ to happen within this ministry back in the 80s and it just happened last year! Isn't God amazing!"

Well, I had a few thoughts about this. 1) This guy's faith is incredible that he would petition God for the same thing for twenty years. And after twenty years of prayer he would still consider God to be faithful. 2) My faith is not like this. My prayers are not like this.

I know I'm not suppose to compare my spiritual walk to anyone else's. But sometimes it's helpful to take stock of how you're really walking. It's easy to fall off track and start leaning on your own understanding. This meeting was a little bit of a wake up call.

I try to pray. I know I pray at least once a day. But how much of myself do I put into my prayers? Is it all of me or just the part of my brain that's awake at 6:30 in the morning? Is my heart even paying attention? Is my spirit really connecting with God when I pray? Do I just give him lip service? (I'm feeling pretty ugly right now . . .)

And what about having perseverance in bringing things before the Lord? Scripture says He knows what we need even before we ask Him, and yet He tells us to pray without ceasing! In all honesty, if I were asking God for something after twenty years, I'd probably just go do it myself. But that is NOT the way He wants me to act! He wants full obedience . . . complete dependence on Him.

And how would I depend completely on God if I am not in prayer? Isn't prayer the very way we communicate with Him? If I can't hear from God how do I know what to do? If I don't bring my concerns before Him, then how do I receive His peace?

If I'm not in prayer . . . I'm not depending on Him. Yikes! Isn't that the most terrifying thought!

I'd like to grow in the area of prayer. I've been reminded of it's power and I'm inspired to depend on God once again for everything.