The Prayer Chair

One of the things I loved about our home when we moved in nearly 16 years ago, was the large size of the bedroom. There was plenty of room for me to make a little prayer corner for myself.  First I needed the perfect chair. I quickly found the chair I liked. It was beautiful and went perfectly with the decor in the bedroom. I bought a matching footstool that could be used as a side table to hold my Bible and coffee mug when I wasn't using them, and I could prop my feet up when I was. It looked beautiful!

The problem was, I never actually used the prayer chair.  Oh, it looked pretty in the room, but I really didn't go up to my bedroom often during the day.  It seemed like an out of place location.  Finally, one day I decided I would use my prayer chair.  I sat in it and tried to make myself comfortable to pray.  The problem was the chair wasn't comfortable.  As a matter fact, when I settle back and laid my head back to pray the wood trim actually hurt. What looked pretty on the outside was actually uncomfortable and almost painful.

Our prayer life can be like that chair.  It may look good on the outside. You know, when we pray in groups of Bible study, our flowery beautiful prayers sound great and look great in the setting.  But when we're home, we sometimes don't really get around to pray.  And when we do, our prayers can be uncomfortable or even painful at time. It can feel awkward to pray if we haven't worked on building that relationship with God.

God doesn't want flowery, public prayers. He wants us to be comfortable with him! He wants a relationship, where we can be our self and share our hearts.  Now my prayer chair is in the family room.  The recliner is overstuffed, and comfortable, and because it's in the family room, I'm there often, reminding me to pray.  The more I pray the more comfortable I get in my prayer life as well.  The old recliner may not be as pretty as the other chair, as a matter of fact, it's wearing out in some places. But that's okay.  

Because chairs and prayers share something important. It's not how they look on the outside, it's how they feel on the inside that matter.

(Jesus said,) “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  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.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Matthew 6:5-7

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Is God your Sponsor or Crew Chief?

"Lord, none of this would be possible without you," the man prayed during Sunday services.  My 12 year old leaned over and whispered, "That sounds like a commercial, 'This wouldn't be possible without our sponsor.'"  Her words got me thinking. How often do we treat God like our sponsor?

If you've ever watched NASCAR racing, at the end of every race the winning driver thanks his sponsor,  "This wouldn't be possible without the support of XYZ."  But believe me, they don't let their sponsor tell them how to race.  For that they have their crew chief.  

The crew chief is continuously available via radio contact with the driver and the driver follows all the directions from the chief. From his position the crew chief can see everything that is going on.  He warns the driver of danger ahead, encourages him through hard turns in the track, and instructs him when to make pit stops.  The sponsor simply gives money and let's the team do what they want, as long as they give the sponsor credit when they win.

In life, God wants to be our crew chief. He is always available through prayer contact to give us directions; warning us of dangers, encouraging us through hard times, and instructing us. He is our Crew Chief, not our sponsor. He doesn't want us to just thank him and give him credit when we do well. He wants to be involved in the decision making, to have an active part in the race of our life.

How are you running your race? Let God be your crew chief, not just your sponsor. A sponsor may be nice to have when life is going great.  But it's the crew chief who is with you not only in the winner's circle, but also in the pits.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com