Thoughts on prayer and more...

Okay, this blog is going to be just a mix of all of the different thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head lately.  Hopefully they will come out coherent...if not, welcome to the inside of my head!!

He hears us.  I have been reminded recently that God hears our prayers.  He really does.  Do you ever feel like you are praying and your prayers are bouncing off of the wall?  If so, we could be good friends.  I have had some times this year where I have actually told myself I'm not going to pray because it doesn't seem to make a difference anyway.  And you know what?  Right at those moments, God has brought physical people in my life to talk to me about prayer.  It was like God knew I needed some encouragement so He sent someone whose voice I could audibly hear in order to reassure me that He still hears me.  He used my old pastor and a lovely Christian friend from Facebook to remind me that He is still here.  Through their wise words, I was able to realize that maybe some part of the problem lies with me.  I needed to learn more about prayer and it's purpose so that I could understand it better.

My friend Theresa gave a beautiful analogy about prayer that I thought I would share here. 

"As a parent there are many times when my kids think they know what they want, but as a mother I know it isn't safe or healthy....soemtimes they cry and get mad at me, but I know in the end they will appreciate the fact that I was keeping them safe (even if they didn't fully understand that at the time).  I have to trust that God is the same way.  When I choose to love him, I must trust that even though I can't undestand why my prayers can't be answered in the way I want them to, He has a better plan, He knows the bigger picture and in the end I am still safe in his arms." 

Maybe it's because I have experienced these same moments with my kids that Theresa describes above but that analogy just touched me so deeply and I could really relate to it.  Next time you are mad at God for not answering your prayers the way you expected, maybe try and remember that we are only human and we don't see the whole cosmic picture.  But God does.  Aren't you glad that the One who knows all and see all is also in charge of all??  I am so glad!

He deserves our praise.  So many times when I don't feel the closeness of God, I automatically think that it was God who has moved.  More often than not though, it is us who have moved away from Him.  Think about your typical day.  How much of it includes time with God, thoughts about God or praise to God?  I think for me, if I'm being completely honest, it would be about 15 minutes or less (exception would be Sundays when I'm at church).  And then I am disappointed when I feel that God is not near to me?  It's because I haven't included Him in my life.  We had a night of worship at our church on Sunday night and for about an hour and a half, I got to experience what true praise and worship was.  And I thought, this is what I want my whole life to be full of.  Praise and adoration to the One who has saved me.  If you are so busy that you don't even have time to think outside your own life and what's happening with it, it might be time to reevaluate.  I am in the process of doing this myself.  Cutting away things that don't matter so I can make room for things that do matter.  It's definitely going to be a process and I know that as my kids get older, there will be seasons of busyness but I don't want to get to the end of my life and wish I had more time to live my life for the right reasons!

And here's a tie-in to prayer.  We are so great at asking God for things, but are we great at listening for the answers?  I'm embarrassed to say that at times I have prayed for things flippantly only to realize later that God has answered those prayers in a great way and I didn't even notice!  Or even worse, I've taken the credit for those answered prayers myself by thinking that I did something to change the situation.

I don't want to be so busy that I don't recognize the answers to prayer and the things that God is doing around me.

Whew!  It feels good to get those thoughts out into coherent sentences.  I want you to know that this blog is just as much for me as it is for others.  Writing is a form of therapy for me.  So, thanks for taking the time to read!  I also love reading your comments!!