So why DON'T we pray?

Actually, we do pray. I know that.

But many times we don't really pray much and certainly don't enjoy it.

Why?

Maybe because prayer can feel like hard work. But it's only talking to God actually. There's a reason it's starts feeling like hard work: there's no real two-way communication taking place.

So we tell ourselves we don't have time to pray, when what we really mean is:
I don't know what to say

I mean, we want to enjoy our talks with God, don't we? Not just give Him a list of all our needs and not even be sure if He's listening.

Two-way communication takes time. It means getting to know who God is and that you can trust Him.

It also means focusing your mind on Him. And maybe putting away that list for a little while.

Just before you start praying, take a few deep breaths and just start thinking about God. Just think a little bit about who He is: loving, kind, allmighty, always with you.

Now, out of that calmer state of mind, say hello to God and tell Him what's really on your mind.

Then listen...He might give you feelings of comfort, or a song might pop into your mind, or a verse from the Bible.

Maybe nothing happens and that's okay too

End your prayer by thinking about who God is again. Remind yourself of His good qualities. Maybe praise Him a little for them.

Then endyour time together...

Amen.

Wrote a song!

You better never say never

(Someone just needs to write me some music now!)



You may be facing a giant

A problem that won’t go

But it’s not by your strength alone

Remember we live by faith, so

Rejoice in the Lord always

And again I say rejoice

The Lord has good plans

So sing and lift your voice

For the Lord is loving & just

And your problems won’t last forever

He’s the God of the impossible

So you better never say never

Lord, we choose to praise You

To thank and to adore

The battle’s in Your hands now

You’ll give us victory and more

Rejoice in the Lord always

And again I say rejoice

The Lord has good plans

So sing and lift your voice

For the Lord is loving & just

And your problems won’t last forever

He’s the God of the impossible

So you better never say never

Miracles in my eyes

What is a miracle after all? To me, a miracle is usually answered prayer or a prophetic word about a situation!

I experienced TWO prophetic words on the 9th of January.
Let me tell you about it...

1. Dreams can come true!

God Himself just gave me a big incentive to get my behind out of bed in the mornings!

I wrote out some affirmations to inspire me to get out of bed in the mornings to pray:
I am so happy and grateful that I wake up easily at 6:30am each morning, refreshed, well rested, energised and ready to start a new day!
I love spending time with God before my day really begins!
I am growing so much closer to God, and together we are working on making my dreams come true.

To be honest, working on reaching my goals for 2008 with God is ONE of THE main reasons I want quiet time with God, besides becoming closer to Him. But I felt it was a tad selfish too.

Then I read a January 2008 newsletter on a Joan Wakeford's website that said:
“I am excited. I believe the year 2008 will be the year that all our dreams come true. A year of good health and prosperity and the year God will shower all His blessings upon us. Let it be a fun year with lots of laughter and joy. Let us speak PEACE over this year;”

So as you can imagine, I am excited and looking forward to prayer times with God in 2008!

On to number two...

2. Trees that clap hands

A friend of mine needed confirmation from God if she should move to a different section in her department. Some positions become redundant in her organisation after a few years and she didn't want to make the wrong career move.

I was praying for her and wasn't really getting an answer I felt was from God. Then the song THE TREES OF THE FIELD began playing in my head.

I looked up the relevant Bible passage, and mailed it to her without any explanation or notes because I strongly wanted God to confirm it to her without trying my own interpretation.

A song with that very same verse had started playing in her head too since yesterday!

So, as you will see from the verse below, her answer is GO!

Wow!!

Isaiah 55:12 (New American Standard Bible)
For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

I found God in the rain today

Those who read my previous entry know that I have been trying to get up earlier in the mornings to pray before my day starts. (And failing miserably by the way! But I'm not giving up! If I keep thinking about it and seeing myself doing it, I'll get there.)

But I still pray on the way to work as much as I can. I have to admit though, sometimes it's hard to feel a connection to God while I am praying. Probably because I start out with my own agenda and don't take the time to just focus on God first. And let's face it, when you can't see the object of your affection, conversations can be difficult at times.

Well, it's been raining since early this morning. As I was driving to work I was just drinking in the beauty of the rain and the lush wet plants on the side of the road and thinking about God. I started feeling amazing feelings of beauty, and peace, and joy in God through His creation. *sigh* It was so lovely!

Do YOU pray?

Seems like a silly question to ask a fellow Christian, but I've found that we just don't make the time to really get alone with God and pray. Well, most of us anyway. (There are a few dedicated souls out there who are still single or who set aside specific time alone with God, and I salute you!)

I've found that being in the marriage I am in now, and with our lifestyle, that I rarely get time alone with God, just the two of us. And I'm not talking about praying in my car on the way to work, 'cause you just can't give all of your attention to praying when you have to concentrate on driving!

The only viable option would appear to be getting up earlier in the mornings to pray before I start getting ready for work. But, oooh, I've struggled with this for years and I still don't do it!!

So I'm repeating to myself:
I enjoy getting up earlier (06:30) to pray!
I find it easy getting up earlier to pray!

And? I am making (slow) progress. The last couple of mornings, different things have woken me up, but I still felt extremely tired so I didn't get up that half an hour/45 minutes ealier to pray.

But at least I'm waking up and thinking about getting out of bed. *Heehee*

One of my goals for 2008 is being closer to God and working with God to fulfill my goals for the year, so it's really important to me that I start having some "alone" prayer time.

Wish me luck, and if you have overcome this same issue, leave a comment, why don't you?

What is YOUR God like...

Not that I suddenly believe in a different God than the Christian one!

BUT, I read an interesting book by Unity Rev Sharon Connors that asked the reader questions that boils down to:

-Is your God a match for, and even bigger than your problems?
-Are you afraid of God in any way?

(From Adventures in Prayer)

And they are important questions. If you can't trust God, or don't believe He is powerful enough to help you in your situation, then why pray? Why believe He is God at all?

And yet I know I have harboured thoughts like, God could help me (He is almighty after all), but maybe it's not His will to help me.

Does that sound like a God you can trust? Not really, huh?

So it's important to start investigating what you believe about God, and compare it to who the Bible says He is.

There it mentions that God is love, God is good, God has good plans for our lives, God loves us, etc.

So, what is YOUR God like?