I apologize for the discombobulation of this entry today. I'm a bit scattered.
Prayer changes everything. I am a firm believer in this, sometimes I doubt, yes but that it because I'm human. But I do believe that prayer changes things. If the outcome is not what we prayed for we still know that people are brought together through prayer.
I have to chuckle here b/c I know you should begin prayer with Thanksgiving. I think I've just always known that is what you do. Sometimes when I don't know what to say or where to begin I start with the Our Father. This guide here says to end with the Our Father - that made me laugh. Neither is right or wrong for that matter. The important part is that I'm praying and having a conversation with God or just listening and letting Him speak to my heart. Again I agree with Matthew Kelly here, nothing compares to establishing the habit of regular prayer in our lives. It is one of life's quintessential experiences. I like his thinking. We can survive without the process but we can thrive...are we thriving or surviving? I can tell you right now I'm not really doing either one...I'm in limbo. I know I want more than anything to thrive, to experience ultimate joy and peace each and everyday of life. I think if I start prayer in thanksgiving then I easily realize that I'm thriving because I have so much to be thankful for.
So what is the prayer process: Gratitude, Awareness, Significant Moments, Peace, Freedom, Others and the Our Father
Gratitude (I have a lot of that.)
Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.
Awareness (We ALL need more of this.)
Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-yourself. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them.
Significant Moments (there can be so many of these in one day I may spend the whole day in prayer.)
Identify something you experienced today, and explore what God might to be trying to say to you through that event (or person).
Peace (we definitely need to ask for this everyday when we commit wrong.)
Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or him) and to fill you with a deep abiding peace.
Freedom (to be our best self.)
Speak with God about how He is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself.
Others (again, I'll be all day here.)
Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.
Finish by praying the Our Father.
One thing I do everyday when I wake up is say "Thank you God for this day." Sometimes I forget to start Claire's day out that way as well b/c I'm rushing to get her up and get her ready. I need to practice that.
Just like our lives of faith are a journey...prayer is a process. Nothing is every just a one time thing or a one time trick. It all takes work and courage and strength. We need commitment and perseverance.
Every moment of everyday is something that we can do one of the above with...thank God for it, ask for help with it, ask for peace about it, ask God to clarify it or the reason for it...help discerning what the moment means. Everything is a reflection of God, we have to no when to tell the devil to go away. He is not as powerful as we think, it's just we are weaker than we believe we are (at least I think so). I need to get back to praying for strength to make good choices, to be that best version of myself and to be more Godlike. I know what is right and what is wrong...I just need to act the right way.
As I sit here (I'm going to brag for a bit, but don't take it the wrong way), with my MAC, the iPad, my cell phone, in my King bed (new bedding), furniture finally paid off, new buffet/TV stand and I look around at the richness of my life, I actually want to go back to simpler times. I'm going to do that as best I can as we move forward in building a new house. One that I realize we don't really need. Makes me a hypocrite as I just said I want to go to simpler times, but I'm building a bigger house for a family that according to my spouse will not have more than 1 child. Just makes me realize how spoiled we are. There is a reason, this lot went on the market for sale. There is a reason we have the opportunity to purchase it. There is a reason, we want to build a mother-in-law suite for Cathy and Whitney so they can live with us. There is a reason...it'll be revealed in time. God knows what He is doing. If we are building this house, I may just get my second child. ;) Fingers crossed...this is one of my prayers.
SIDE BAR: Yesterday we had Claire's third birthday party...yes third. There were so many people there (granted we invited a lot) and still many who couldn't be there. It was like watching God send a hundred blessings all at once. I know she didn't realize it or see it as a blessing, but it was truly God working in our lives. I wish we could have invited more people. It's like planning her wedding every year. You want to invite all of the family and friends and you never know where to draw the line. Carey and I are extremely lucky to have so many people so close to us.
Then she went to Nana's. I miss her already.
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