I stink at prayer. I'm like an ADD kid in a candy store - unable to focus or concentrate for any length of time. Sometimes I start praying at night right before I fall asleep and find myself waking up saying "Amen." My wife, on the other hand, is a prayer GIANT. She wears me out when we pray together.
This book has helped me tremendously in the prayer department. Bill Hybels is a man I respect for many reasons (and I've never met the man) and this book only served to deepen my regard for him as a Christ follower. This man communes with God. And I want to go there too. Here's a few things I picked up from this book:
- God wants to answer our prayers. (see Luke 18:2-8)
- God is able to answer our prayers.
- Prayer is God's invitation to His children to enter into His presence. You want to hang out with God? Pray!
- People make room in their busy schedules for the things they cherish the most. Jesus made time to pray. Shouldn't we?
- Some prayer requests, no matter how well intentioned, are inappropriate. This is one reason for unanswered prayer.
- Write your prayers down daily in a journal. It helps you focus and helps you see Him move with answered prayers over time.
- Comfort = complacent prayer life. Don't get comfortable in life. Stretch yourself constantly.
- When you pray, it's just as important to listen as it is to speak. Probably more important, actually.
What area(s) do you struggle with in your prayer life? When do you find is the best time for you to pray?
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2 comments:
I enjoyed and benefited from the Hybels book, although prayer's still a bit of a struggle. Very recently I came across Sybil MacBeth's Praying in Color - haven't read the book yet, but have started to use some ideas derived from the website.
When I arrive at work each morning I make a cup of herbal tea, read something from the Bible and a devotional book (Heschel at the moment), then doodle a 'prayer in colour' in my journal. I return to the doodle at various points during the day, which reminds me to pray, although I'm finding that the image sticks with me throughout the day anyway. It's still early days, but it seems to be helping.
ER - that sounds fun and fascinating at the same time. Never thought about connecting w/God in that way. I'm a visual learner...I wonder if I'm a visual prayer as well? Gotta try that out!
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