prayers

A week ago Sunday I mentioned that one of my confessions would be that I feel that I have not done as good of a job as I could have/should have, visiting with you about prayer. Trying to help you understand the purpose of, and benefit of Godly prayer.

I share these three prayers with you over the last few days to give you a picture of what I think are some of Christianity's best prayers. I asked you to read them and look for the common themes. Several of you commented, and you get it.

If you take a moment today and read them again, you will see the common themes. Prayer submits me to God. Pray brings my heart to kneel. In prayer I am lost in him and in his purpose. In prayer I realize that nothing on my heart or mind compares to basking in his presence.

Now at this point someone will say that God cares for our needs and concerns. I would agree. But these should not be the primary focus of our praying. Our praying needs to be about spending time with the Master........ with no strings attached.

When I come to your house to dinner, it is about us hanging out and enjoying each other. It is not about me asking you for everything.

This is such a change to the thoughts of most American Christians, who think that God is a spiritual vending machine...... prayer in - blessings out. The monastics, and the great Christ followers of all time, found peace and rest in the presence of the one that they loved.

And so in prayer, I lose myself in Him. I find myself in him. I retreat from the world, so that I can return to it as the person he made me to be. In prayer I say, not my will but thine. In prayer I deliver my time, talent and treasure to him for his disposal. It all came from him anyway, and our lives find perspective when our focus is leaning into him instead of worrying about our stuff.

I also find it a bit interesting that often in prayer, you are the answer. Not that you are some power broker, but often, the answer that we seek comes from us simply releasing ourselves to do and be what God calls us to be. This principle is illustrated in the old story of the person who was going to ask God why he allowed so many people to die of hunger, but then the person decided not to ask, because he/she was afraid that God might ask the same of us. Why do we allow so many people to die of hunger? And so, as I am submitted to God, I can become the answer to many of my prayers.

There is so much to say on this subject, but this post is long enough. May you find the place in prayer where worldly concerns are absorbed and dissipated by the sheer joy of holding fast to the one that you love, and who loves you like no other.

It's at beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.