#10. Prayer
Well, it's obviously been a while since I posted, and I clearly didn't hold true to my once a week blogs...but I'm back! It's summertime, and a recent Discipleship Resources retreat for writers at NewSpring Church and one of my Fuse students this week reminded me of why I loved to write so much and how much I have missed it. It truly is my favorite and most productive way to process, and when I don't have it as part of my daily quiet time or even weekly routine, I never feel quite right.
Six months later I still haven't completely finished processing all that was Passion 2012, and I really do want to finish. So, that's going to be my first writing project of the summer.
I'm starting back with prayer and how it has become such an important part of my life since Passion. Maybe it's a good thing I waited to write about this topic, because what I've learned and put into my daily practice over the last sixth months involving prayer has truly changed me as a person and a follower of Christ. Perhaps one of the most striking things that was said at Passion this year was during the prayer that Beth Moore gave before she began her sermon. She said, "And let us say when we are finished that we thought we loved you when we came." Think about that for a second. Think about how much you love Jesus now and imagine how praying daily to love Him more with each passing moment could effect your relationship with Him. I remember sitting in my chair waiting for Beth to preach and crying before she even began because I was so struck with the notion of yearning to love Jesus more so much that I boldly and earnestly pray for it. That one prayer changed my entire attitude about the way I loved Jesus, and for the first time in a long time I realized how powerful prayer truly is.
Over the past six months, the recurring theme of the power of prayer has haunted my quiet times, sermons I've heard, and books that I've read. A few weeks ago Lee McDerment preached one of the most powerful and freeing sermons I've ever heard about prayer. In it, he reminded me of the importance of prayer and the fact that the Lord truly does hear what we say to Him and wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He also told us that we should pray boldly and specifically, not wasting time to check our motives. Instead, we should pray immediately and consistently for what we need and what we want and allow the Lord to answer our prayers as they need to be answered.
I'm realizing that the key to prayer is truly having faith that the Lord will answer. As Christians, Christ should be the center of all that we are. He is in complete control, and He loves us so much that He allows us to be in constant contact and conversation with Him. Prayer and consistent Bible reading are our ways to to do this and are essential details of our relationship with Him. No matter how it feels sometimes, God always hears our prayers and listens to the cries of our hearts. Though He may delay the answer or give us responses in unexpected (or maybe unwanted) ways, He ultimately knows what is best for us. He wants to fulfill our dreams. We don't have to strive to make them happen ourselves...we just have to tell God what they are!
Well, it's obviously been a while since I posted, and I clearly didn't hold true to my once a week blogs...but I'm back! It's summertime, and a recent Discipleship Resources retreat for writers at NewSpring Church and one of my Fuse students this week reminded me of why I loved to write so much and how much I have missed it. It truly is my favorite and most productive way to process, and when I don't have it as part of my daily quiet time or even weekly routine, I never feel quite right.
Six months later I still haven't completely finished processing all that was Passion 2012, and I really do want to finish. So, that's going to be my first writing project of the summer.
I'm starting back with prayer and how it has become such an important part of my life since Passion. Maybe it's a good thing I waited to write about this topic, because what I've learned and put into my daily practice over the last sixth months involving prayer has truly changed me as a person and a follower of Christ. Perhaps one of the most striking things that was said at Passion this year was during the prayer that Beth Moore gave before she began her sermon. She said, "And let us say when we are finished that we thought we loved you when we came." Think about that for a second. Think about how much you love Jesus now and imagine how praying daily to love Him more with each passing moment could effect your relationship with Him. I remember sitting in my chair waiting for Beth to preach and crying before she even began because I was so struck with the notion of yearning to love Jesus more so much that I boldly and earnestly pray for it. That one prayer changed my entire attitude about the way I loved Jesus, and for the first time in a long time I realized how powerful prayer truly is.
Over the past six months, the recurring theme of the power of prayer has haunted my quiet times, sermons I've heard, and books that I've read. A few weeks ago Lee McDerment preached one of the most powerful and freeing sermons I've ever heard about prayer. In it, he reminded me of the importance of prayer and the fact that the Lord truly does hear what we say to Him and wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He also told us that we should pray boldly and specifically, not wasting time to check our motives. Instead, we should pray immediately and consistently for what we need and what we want and allow the Lord to answer our prayers as they need to be answered.
I'm realizing that the key to prayer is truly having faith that the Lord will answer. As Christians, Christ should be the center of all that we are. He is in complete control, and He loves us so much that He allows us to be in constant contact and conversation with Him. Prayer and consistent Bible reading are our ways to to do this and are essential details of our relationship with Him. No matter how it feels sometimes, God always hears our prayers and listens to the cries of our hearts. Though He may delay the answer or give us responses in unexpected (or maybe unwanted) ways, He ultimately knows what is best for us. He wants to fulfill our dreams. We don't have to strive to make them happen ourselves...we just have to tell God what they are!
Comments
Post a Comment