On Prayer

So this morning I got up, put on my socks and came to the living room to start the fire.  It is freezing in here.  I wanted to write for you sweet girls all the mechanics of prayer as soon as I finished my time with the Lord.  In the mornings I do a short devotional and leave the deeper study for later in the day (but not every day).

So I started the fire, then turned on praise music and got my glass of water.  I got a spoon out of the drawer to get a spoonful of almond butter (yum!) and noticed that the silver ware tray needed to be cleaned.  I started to get it out but saw the pile of dishes left over from feeding the girls and their friends last night.  A quick thought that I could knock those dishes out in no time popped right into my head.

The enemy.  Already trying to keep me from the important thing. Will I ever get mature enough to not be distracted by the enemy? Sheesh.

So I came back in here and did my Bible reading (dishes still all over the cabinet, tray still in the drawer) and then pulled the blanket over my head and started praying. The prayer this morning was how to share with you about prayer life.  At least this prayer was.  The prayer around 1:30 am was for someone else and the prayer around
4:00 am was for something else.

When I was in high school I learned about the mechanics of prayer.  They taught us ACTS.  Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.  That is all great and I used that a lot at the time.  If I ever got distracted I would do some of them twice. Or three times.  I am easily distracted.

I was also encouraged at one time to write down my prayers.  I came across a journal of prayers from when the older kids were little.  Almost every prayer was confessing my impatience and unkindness and then asking for patience and kindness.  Almost every one.

There are a lot of books written on prayer, but I think Jesus nailed it.  Winky face.  The thing is, I know you all know all those things.  Example:  recognize Him as the one true God, praise His holiness, pray for the return of His kingdom, ask for daily provision, etc.  I know Who He is and His holiness - that is why I go to Him.  He is the ONLY answer.

Sometimes when I lay over in this big chair and pull the blanket over my head, I say nothing.  I feel like I am in the closet and I am just here.  He is too.  That is the beauty of the life of prayer.  It IS your life.   Whether you talk or sing or scream.  Or be quiet.

It looks different for me all of the time.  So many times I could tell you about when the Lord Himself put prayer into my heart to shoot right back at Him.  For six weeks before Steve got sick I prayed the same thing for him at the same time every morning.  It wasn't a prayer I read about anywhere, it just came to my heart.  No alarm was set.  The Lord woke me up because I had work to do even though I didn't know what work I was doing at the time.  A few days after his diagnosis, he told me what God was showing him and it was almost word for word what I had been praying.  It was at that moment, I knew the faithfulness of God.

Honestly girls, if you have a heart that draws near to Him,  He will show you exactly how to pray.  Many may disagree, but that is my testimony and I am sticking to it!

I love to pray scripture over us.  There is a book I had quite a while back called Praying Scriptures for your Children.  I will find out the author and get you that info.  It helped me so much to get the practice of that in my life and has continued on all of these years.

There were times, when I felt like I was in a battle for one of my kids, that I would walk and speak those scriptures out loud to the Lord.  More than one time I was so desperate I would yell it out loud to the Lord, claiming my kid back into His presence.  It wasn't long after that there was brokenness in that child.  Beautiful God.

Those times I was like the persistent widow in Luke 18.  I may have been able to pray once and leave it with Him, but most times I just kept on,  just like my kids do me until I get it done.

When you pray the scriptures, you know you are praying His will.  Ultimately that is the only thing we want.

When I was thinking about writing these things to you, I thought about how I don't pray enough.  Yet pray all of the time.  I read a quote by Brother Lawrence that pretty much nailed it for me.

"The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer.    And in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees."

Can I tell you that when I read this, I cried?  And then again as I just typed it?  Because it is true.  When I draw near to God, He and I are in constant communication.  In the middle of the night, in my closet time in the morning, while I am driving down the road.  I don't have to wonder which part of ACTS I am doing.   Or if I got the S before the C.

He and I - we just ARE.

He is faithful enough to give you the prayer you need to pray whenever, wherever that may be.

I have to admit I went to my knees in Walmart once, overwhelmed by His grace.  I didn't have to get on my knees to know the truth of the situation, but everything in my being wouldn't let me stand up.  I have had to pull over on the side of the road.  I walk.  I lay across the chairs in church.  I lay on the floor.  I do dishes.  Songs come on and I pray the words for the one the Lord lays on my heart.

One  of my most desperate praying times came while we were painting the girls' rooms.  Situations were dire, but life was happening and my heart cried with every roll of the brush.

So in all of this randomness, maybe there really aren't mechanics to our prayer.  We have the guide, but I honestly believe the more you love Him, the closer your heart draws to Him, the more powerful your prayer life will be.

And now.  Now even as I write this to you, I weep for you as I see each of your faces and pray that you draw near.  That is the only way.  Your desire for Him has to be priority.  Then your conversation with Him becomes non-stop, even when no words are spoken.

That is how good He is.

Gosh, I sure love you girls.