prayer

i have been thinking about the concept of prayer lately. what it takes to pray, what it means to have a heartfelt prayer. i really still have no conclusions other than the whole idea of converstation between God and me (for some reason i do more talking then listening) but this next blog is dedicated to those of us who would like a better prayer life. this insert was written for the church newsletter that i am currently employed for the next 20 days. for those of you that do not know i resigned three weeks ago.

“Praying Well”

Prayer in my life has always been open ended. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how and what to pray. Never really understanding what it takes to pray. No one ever really gave me a guide to say this is the right and the wrong way to pray. So for me to be writing something on prayer is not the easiest thing. But I want to talk to you about prayer. I want to tell you how not to pray and from that conclude ways that are okay to pray.

1. We do not pray to enhance our self. What good is a prayer when we are asking for God to bless us, to enhance our career, to pad our portfolio? It is not that God does not care about our financial situation but rather more concerned for our heart for others. If we focus only on ourselves we lose sight of what we can for others and how we can enhance the community of God.

2.We do not pray in front of others to sound godly. We pray in front of others so we can corporately agree with the prayers offered by the other person. There is something to be said when a group of believers come together and offer up the same prayer in unity rather than just a personal prayer time.

3. Prayer is not something to always pass on to someone else. This can be said for leaders within a group. What happens when a group prays together but never hears the leader pray? You can see into a person’s heart when they pray. More so than when you are just talking to them about a vision and purpose for the group of people. When a prayer is said you can see what is most important to them.

4. Prayer is not limited to certain times during the day. Most people will pray during the same time everyday. Maybe one will have a devotional every morning, pray before each meal and when they go to bed each night. Prayer is a continuous conversation with God. In reality he is always with us and hears what we say to our friends, our thoughts and really everything that goes on in our life. He knows our heart and will see through us to our core. Rather than praying and checking it off the list of things to do that day. Lets open our life as a prayer.

5. Prayer is not limited to us talking. In any conversation with our friends, if we were the only ones who talked. It could be very one sided, only hearing the opinions of one person rather than having a dialogue to see if God has a suggestion on the matter. Therefore we try to listen to God’s opinion.

Prayer will always be a work in progress. One week might be better than the other. But we need to make time for both personal and corporate prayer. It helps build us up. It encourages, challenges, humbles, leads, equips and helps us press on through the tough times. Prayer is something we all need; young, old, rich and poor alike. Prayer is the one common thing that we all have to connect to God. Music, preaching and opininions might drive us apart but prayer is what brings us together.

so that was the newsletter article, tune in later for some more articles on the idea of prayer and the conclusion of what and where jenny and i are going to end up in the next phase of our life.