You know how you go to the web to look for something and an hour later you wonder why it was you went to the web in the first place? I'm having one of those afternoons. I've been thinking about prayer a lot lately as I spend evenings praying for the friends that Warehouse has Sent.
You know how you turn off the TV, go into a dark quiet room and just pray as it comes? Praising, singing, battling, crying, laughing, proclaiming, dancing and a lot of just sitting in the stillness, in silence? Ok, well maybe that's just me. In which case I've shared too much and I need to explore this more in counseling. :) What I mean is, just spending time in His presence as you would a friend who has come to visit.
I guess my point is, no matter what you do when praying, isn't it awesome when you come back and realize that two or more hours have passed? And you think, this was so much better than watching TV. (Or doing the Sudoku puzzles I'm addicted to.)
I wonder why I don't do that as a practice. Why do I only do it when there's a missionary traveling, or a friend or relative who is very sick? And why, each time I do this, and have these very same thoughts and conviction, do I go right back to pursuing distractions rather than spending time with Jesus?
So I've been crawling for thoughts on prayer. Prayer insights. Prayer ministries. Prayer communities. I want to know - how do people do this? What's the key? What's the trick? How do you make focused, extended, intimate prayer a lifestyle?
Of course I could say - well, two hours of prayer every day isn't for everyone, just the people who are spiritually gifted to pray. But I know that's not true. I know it's a matter of just getting the fact that you are spending time with Someone you love and who loves you.
Watching TV for two hours is easy. Surfing iTunes is easy. I wouldn't say that I have the spiritual gift of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, or the gift of paying 99 cents a song to bring grunge back. So why do I think that a person needs to be especially gifted to spend that same amount of time praying?
I don't have any answers, really. I expect I will always do this prayer thing imperfectly. I found a few quotes I thought I'd share anyway. ~Aida
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Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. Pray for prayer. Pray until you can really pray. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
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"Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To make intercession for men (and women) is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them." ~ John Calvin
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“…the man on his knees has a leverage underneath the mountain which can cast it into the sea, if necessary, and can force all earth and heaven to recognize the power there is in His name.” ~ M.E. Andross
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“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.” ~ Mary Warburton Booth
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"The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him." ~ Sadhu Sundar Singh
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[BJ, Darla, and my head]
[the infamous Monrovia Canyon Falls]
[ our company at the end of the trail
[fallen leaves, running water]
[God's beauty even in things that scare us]
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