PRAYER

I just read a chapter in Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline on the discipline of prayer. I have been sort of struggling with the idea of prayer and what to do when it seems like it doesn't work, but this chapter was super helpful to me. One of the most basic yet profound things I learned is that prayer works best when we ask God what to pray for. Then we are praying in line with His will. That means taking time to listen as well as to speak, and to pray for the things He brings to mind first, rather than having to dredge up every last prayer request we've heard that day. If those other things need to be prayed for, God will have someone else pray for them. I just need to pray for what God places on my heart to pray for. Genious.

Also, I found out that praying is something that is learned. You get better at it as God teaches you more and more about it. But that doesn't mean we should get discouraged when we feel like we're not getting it. It just means we need to keep at it, and we'll get better. That keeps us humble in our praying. First of all, it's God's agenda, and secondly, we'll always be learning how to pray better.

That's my thought for the day.