Prying open prayer...

First off, I opted to change the name of this blog while attempting to fall asleep last night. I got to thinking about what makes up my life and what I would like to be the foundations of G's life and this little saying from a well known Disney movie popped into my head..."All it takes is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust." Now I'm not saying that pixie dust is a foundation for my everyday living...it's what it represents...whimsy. My faith in God is the firm foundation on which my existence stands. My trust in Him allows me to encounter the things of this life and count it all joy, both the good and the bad. I trust Him to guide me, to provide, to comfort, and to love me unconditionally. As for the pixie dust? I try to cling to the whimsy of youth...the creativity, the imagination, and the dreaming that stems from a childlike heart. I wish these things for my daughter as well...

As I rested my weary head last night and reflected on the things mentioned above, I also honed in on one of the weakest areas of my faith: prayer. I know that prayer is essential and without it my relationship with Christ could not develop, but I also know it is my most underutilized area. I began a new devotion series called "Teach Me to Pray" from Time of Grace. The first devotion focuses on Jesus' disciples and how they observed the strength, refreshment, comfort and energy that Jesus gained from his time in prayer with his Father. It asked the questions of whether my prayer life was sometimes unfulfilled, forced, scant, confused, etc. and if I had the longing, as the disciples did, to make my prayer life as meaningful as Jesus did. The answer to both would be "yes". I was made acutely aware that my prayer life has become sparse and in some ways, God has become unfamiliar. I don't talk to Him like I once did.

Think of the person with whom you have the best relationship. If you narrowed down what keeps that relationship alive and prosperous, I'm sure communication would be at the top of the list. So goes a person's relationship with God. The communication has to be there. It can't be one sided and it can't be closed off. I have allowed myself to speak and be heard without allowing God to offer up His reply. Will He stop listening? No. Will I be as likely to recognize His will when He answers? No. Satan has been using this lack of communication to allow me to become comfortable with this stagnant type of prayer life. Because of this, I tend to worry more, I feel encumbered by situations that are not mine to carry, and I allow fear to often overcome my sense of security in Christ. Major problems! I have two options. 1. I can stay right where I am or 2. I can place these things in God's hands and work on my prayer life in order to develop the type of relationship, well an even better relationship, with God that I've known in the past and desperately want to know again. He is my God and is the one constant part of my life. I need to develop this area in order to be the mother that my daughter needs me to be. It is time I move forward...

"Lord, teach [me] to pray..." Luke 11:1b

"Never stop praying." 1 Thessalonians 5:17