What is prayer? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines prayer as "an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought."
Prayer has always been a downfall in my Christian life. It is one of the most basic principles of Christianity and yet I seem to have trouble with it!
"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
I get swept up in things going on in my life. Its easy to forget to pray. When I wake up in the mornings, I am rushed to get out the door. Trying to get a shower, deciding on what to wear, and getting my head straight to deal with teenagers consumes my thoughts. Once I'm at school, I'm focused on teaching and dealing with the students. After school, its off to tutoring, practice for the musical, and the many other extra curriculars I help with. By the time I finally return home, sometimes over 12 hours later, I'm exhausted and I've gone the entire day without making time to pray. While I consider myself a good person, and helping with these things is good, we are commanded to pray. The Bible says that even people with good intentions will not make it in to heaven if they don't do what he has commanded (Matthew 7:22-23).
"Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am." (Isaiah 58:9)
Sometimes I feel as though I'm not worthy to pray to God. My trials are very few. God has blessed me with a wonderful family, a very happy childhood, and a good job. I thank him when I do pray, but what right do I have to ask for a better job when there are so many jobless people out there? What right do I have to ask God to help me get over a boyfriend when there are people who dealing with death, severe illnesses, and addiction? My problems in life seem so trivial.
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16)
I need to remember that I didn't choose God, he chose me. The things in my life are NOT trivial and I should thank HIM that I am so blessed. I have decided to make it my goal to pray more often in the next few weeks. How do I plan to do that? I'm glad you asked! :) I'm going to make an effort to wake up 30 minutes earlier and start the day off by reading the Bible and making time for prayer. The only way to get better at praying is by actually praying! I hope that by doing this, my prayers will become more meaningful.
I also have come to realize that prayer doesn't have to be formal. It doesn't have to be long or worded well. God knows what is in my heart. Prayer seems to me to just be a way of formalizing and actually thanking God or asking God for help. You may know that someone is thankful for something, but it is always nice to actually hear the words "thank you." Same thing works for God.
I'll keep you updated on how the praying more often is working out for me!
