My prayers lack focus at times. They may say, "Lord, be with so & so whose having a hard time...I should buy them a card...uh, and um, thank you that we have food to eat...shucks! I forgot to take the roast out of the freezer...uh, and um, Lord, thank you for my wonderful children...WHAT, what is it, dear, Mommy is praying...ok, ok, mommy will make you a snack. (Be back later, Lord.)
The problem is MINE. I have been resistant to follow the example of Jesus, who got up early to pray in solitary places. I don't write down my prayer requests, my own or the other ones I have agreed to pray for, so I'm left to do a "group" prayer that sounds like "and everyone I said I would pray for and I left out here, Lord, I pray for them." Okay, it might now be QUITE that bad, but it's close. I do a mental "roll call" of who I said I'd pray for, but I am afraid I've left out someone.
1 Peter 4:7 sums up my solution: "Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray."
So with school starting, my goal is to wake up early and start my day with God. Don't get my wrong, I pray already nearly every morning, but it's my monologue prayer. My goal is to begin a dialog with God. To be still, and to know he is God.
Matthew 6:6 -- But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Mark 1:35 -- Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Psalm 46:10 -- "Be still, and know that I am God."
23 comments:
When our hearts are fixed on really connecting to God I think we pray better than we think. A couple of days ago, I was praying with a friend and she had to take a phone call with the printer. We also hit the pause button. The Lord was still with us when she finished however, I felt some of the power of the moment had vanished. I have been thinking a lot about prayer also. I hope to gather my thoughts in a future post. Have a great prayerful day. B
Did you write that about me Kelly? I tend to do the same thing. I start out with good intentions but I usually get a lot of interruptions and I end up putting God on hold. I know not good. It is very much like a phone call when someone else calls in. You say; I have a call coming in God, I will get right back with you and then you never do. We need to put a stop to this I think. Hmmmm maybe a topic for a post of my own.
Oh my, the word verification sounded out as "in one minute" Now that is chilling.
It seems like the blogs that I'm visiting this morning have been living my life.
Your post,I believe, was meant for me! For the last couple of weeks I've be dealing with this area in my life. When I pray I do all the talking and then finish with "Amen" and begin my day :(
I talk to God all day but I engage in some serious prayer early in the morning and late at night. It's sort of a fishhtail prayer session. ;)
Kelly,
Thank you for sharing your heart. Sometimes we all lose focus. God understands and HE is there to pick us up, dust us off, and set us back on course.
It was much harder when my kids were young to find those quiet moments and I am not a person who loves mornings.
Blessings,andrea
Kelly, I will keep you in prayer for this one. I, too have struggled with this and I have tried many different things and I wont bore you with suggestion because we all find our own way that is best for us... so, with that said I hope you are having an amazing week!!
Good for you Kelly for your new "commitment" with God! I too am guilty of the prayer monologue and am also in a season of purposeful morning dialogues.(BTW-I love how you can clearly, concisely, and humorously define something for me.)
It's also a good reminder for me to make prayers lists (as I read so many especially through the blogging world.) Blessings, Laurie
Kelly,
It's funny because I got an email this morning on how to put a priority back into spending time in prayer and just how to do that. I may just share that next week since it's something we all struggle with.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Kelly,
Sorry to be an extra burden. But would you add my family and me to your prayer list? Nothing in particular. I covet prayer, and love fellow warriors.
Just breezin bye.
KW
Hmmm...I pray spasmodically. Driving to work in the car is a good time when I can remember. I talk to God on and off during the day, but I don't know that you can class that as proper prayer....
Oh Kelly--this really hit home. I am quite a "knee jerk" pray-er. I pray all throughout my day...but really communicating...that's a whole different story. I was so moved by my DS 2's Twitter today...he posted "Be still and know that I am God" Thank you God!' And I thought: "wow, that's exactly what I need to do!"
Kelly,
I loved your honest post and do love that promise in Psalms that when we are still, we will KNOW that He is God!
Blessings girl,
Pat
Kelly, you have done an awesome thing. You have been very honest and I know God will reward that. He hears the cry of your heart.
Prayer used to be that way for me as well. It would be sometimes today and then sometimes the next couple of days kind of thing. I would pray in my bed at night and we all know where that leads....to dreamland.
However I got to a place where I was really tired of being like a dead fish. I was tired of being a powerless christian, but before I really got into prayer, I got into the word.
I started to read not with my mind like I had always done, but with my heart and the more I read the more I desired to read.
Since I was reading the Word so much it was always in my heart and on my mind, so when I started praying I just prayed the word. I would pray it back to God and started having some very exciting times in His presence.
As I prayed the Holy Spirit would speak things to my heart for other people or He would show me areas of my life that I needed to focus on. This had never ever happened to me before. I would pray for my friend, God would give me a word and she would be amazed because of what was going on in her heart that I didn't even know about.
His word is spirit and it is life.
Instead of saying God heal so and so, I now pray, "Lord you were wounded for .....transgressions and by your stripes..... is healed.
Instead of saying, God so and so needs a job or is in financial difficulties, I now pray, "Lord you promised to supply all of ......needs according to your riches in glory by Christ Jesus"
and I find that I am getting more answers to pray because I am praying His word.
I want to encourage you to pray the word. Take your bible until you can memorize it and pray the Word back to God. It will not fail.
I also want to encourage you if you can to get a copy of, "The Master Is Calling" by Lynne Hammond. Discovering the wonders of spirit-led prayer.
It's one of the best books on prayer that I have ever read and I have read a lot of them.
Sorry to go on so long but there is so much power in prayer that I don't want you to miss out on another moment in His presence.
blessings,
Vickie
Kelly, I so appreciate this post. I think most Christians want a more vibrant prayer life...a real one. I feel that way, too. You are not alone And really it is OUR responsibility and discipline. While I pray throughout the day, I must get that quiet time in in the morning. That's so precious.
I am SO excited you will be getting up early! Whoooeeeee! I am doing the happy dance! The Lord will bless your heart so much as you make this special QUIET time for Him.
Love you, friend. Thank you for the card that arrived yesterday. You blessed my heart! And I love getting pretty envelopes in the mail...instead of all bills and junk!
Great post! We all need that reminder that our prayers with God should be a dialog and it does require finding that quiet time to have a relationship like that. :-)
May God give you the grace you need to wake up early next week in order to commune with Him.
Remember, He's always there waiting to talk with you.
Love you!
Sonya
"Be Still and Know that I Am God". He has been following me around with that in the last few hours. I just now realized it.
My prayer life is not what it used to be or what I want it to be. But I was crying out to God all morning.
Thank you for this. It was an encouragement.
I just wish God had made us all early morning people! I am most productive in the morning but not prior to 6 AM. Quite frankly, 7:30 would be better, but then I'd be late for work!
I end up praying a lot when I'm in the shower, doing the dishes or while I'm driving. To sum it up, I multi-task while I pray. Not really what God has in mind! You're not alone my friend!
Love and Blessings, Leslie
Kelly,
I so admire your transparency. I know we can probably ALL come on up in our prayer lives.
Although I have a specific time every morning when I pray, I don't stop praying for the rest of the day. I pray all the time...in the shower, in the car, while I vacuum, you get the idea. I walk and pray. I breathe, and pray.
Thanks for sharing your heart with us...
I pray that your times in dialogue with the LORD will be a blessing to you and a sweetness to HIM.
It's so important.
Love and hugs.
Love your honesty Kelly. Truth be told, I think many of us have that problem...and probably more often than we like to admit.
I actually laughed when reading the second paragraph...I so-o-o relate! When people ask for prayer, I usually do it asap so I don't forget. Once I do, I usually remember to again.
Anyhow, it's nice to know I'm not the only one, and that God isn't finished with me yet (cos believe me...there's lotsa work for Him to do!)
Great post, Kelly!
I think what you've expressed is experienced by those of us with "certain" personalities. : ) I also find it hard to sit still & stay focused in prayer, for starters. I find that journaling my prayers - writing a letter to the Lord - really helps me focus. Plus it creates a record. You're a writer - you may love that. Another thing that helps me focus is praying out loud, which I do in my car alot! I talk to the Lord also through music while at the piano, my private worship. And he talks back! Great post.
An area I constantly have to check myself in. It's so easy to let prayer life slide in to the monologue type of praying. Thanks for spurring me back to do a reality check on my prayer life.
I laughed, I cried, I copied. Thanx that is going to be sent to my closets friends lol!
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