Day 37: How to chat to God

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Verse: Luke 11:1

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 

Thought:

So many of us struggle to pray.  I know I do.  And it isn't just making time, it is how I pray that tangles me in knots.  There are various pro-forma methods of praying. We have the Lord's prayer, which Jesus taught his disciples in the verses that follow this verse.  Some people use the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) method.  But it isn't just about the style of the prayer, but the content.  I know I shared on Sunday about nice prayer and being free to pray with emotion.  But I always feel a bit stilted when I pray.  God isn't a physical being and it can be hard to speak without instant feedback.

In the last couple of years I have developed a group of really good friends.  We all chat every day and share so much.  We have been through cancer, death, job uncertainties, operations, fears, insomnia and funerals.  We have also been through the joy of first smiles, wobbly teeth, robotic championships, having designs published, winning competitions, holidays,  skating championships, romance, weddings and lots of laughter.  And I have not met a single one of them in person.  Yet I consider them real  friends.  They are my digi-sisters and they are a wonderful bunch of ladies. My son calls them my lap friends (hence the photo!) and this is my usual way of communicating with them.

In the same way, although I have never met God, my relationship with him should be growing stronger each day.  I should be chatting and sharing things with him.  I found that doing this blog is a way of praying.  My thoughts are centered on relating daily things to my relationship with God.  I kept a written prayer diary for a while and it saw me through a really rough patch in my life.  I would often find myself writing reams every day.  I was far more honest and open than if I was formally praying.

I think it is time for me to start writing again - it works for me.  Find the prayer method that works best and talk to God in this way.  Like any relationship, it grows stronger the more you talk.

Prayer

 Lord, it is such a privilege to be in a relationship with you.  Please help me to speak to You as I would to any friends. Let me be open and honest with you and open to the answers you give me too.

Day 36: Are you an ant?

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Verse: Proverbs 12:11

The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies.

Thought

Hmmmm.  I start a new job next month, working on one day a week on Fridays.  I work 3 days at the moment and will now be working 4 (easy life, I know).  This was one of my 'Free' days to catch up on house-work, shopping, friends etc and now I will be working.  And through the summer!!  I guess I will have 'food on the table' but a part of me is yearning for the loss of chasing my 'whims and fancies'!

If you read this verse you may recognise Aesop's story of the grasshopper and the ant. While the ant slaved away and worked very hard all summer, the grasshopper mucked about in the sunshine and wiled away the hours, playing and having fun.  But when the winter came, the ant had plenty of provisions laid up for his family, and the grasshopper had nothing but vague memories of sunshine.  

We have God-given abilities and I believe we are expected to work hard for what we have.  And we can earn wealth and 'things', but we shouldn't have the expectation that these things will just be given to us.  God rewards us for working hard, in life and in our faith, and the end result will be a table laden with His blessing.   

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the abilities you have given me.  Thank you for my job.  Lord I pray that I may give my best to this job and enjoy the challenges ahead of me.

Day 35: Bringing up children

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Verse:  Proverbs 22:6

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Thought

I think that new parents may look at this verse with a light heart and think that if they provide the good Christian home, all will be well and they will have perfect children from babyhood, through the tweens and teens and into adulthood.  I don’t think so!  I have too many nieces and nephews to believe that!  I am aware of what is coming with my way with my gorgeous but stubborn and determined boy!  I am more than nervous!       

But I do think you can instil basic core behaviours that will stand them in good stead.  Of course teenagers rebel and become foul beasts, but as they grow older they become “normal” again and those basic mores that you taught them are hopefully intrinsically part of their being.  The temporary `boys will be boys' pattern that they are following now will soon be changed for a `faith of the Fathers' blueprint for the rest of their lives. But I am not so unrealistic to think that this is a definite outcome.  I know of children from loving Christian families who seem hell-bent on self-destruction.  They wilfully turn against God and become atheists. 

So what is the answer?  We can only do our best as parents.  We need to help our children develop their natural talents and we need to give them the help and direction in order to do this  We can only hope that if we  keep them in line with their abilities, they will reach their full potential as adults and fulfil the destiny God has for them.       

The comfort from Proverbs 22:6,  is that there is a promise of sorts for parents.  While there is no guarantee of every child becoming a child of God, there is a general promise of salvation.  Hopefully, our efforts are going to be rewarded with the salvation and spiritual well-being of our children. We can try to ensure we give our children every opportunity and the rest is between them and God.          

Prayer   

Oh Lord, it is such a big responsibility being a parent and I do pray that you would guide David and I as we raise Joseph.  Give us the wisdom we need and the strength of conviction to instil Your values into him.  We pray for your protection  over him and that he would grow up knowing and loving you.

Day 34: Watch yourself

Quote - ? Frank Outlaw

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits they become character; Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Thought 

This quote has popped up in my life in several places over the last few weeks. On facebook, e-mails and a card someone sent me. While it is not biblical, it is still a good quote and it makes you stop and think about what forms our character. Our thoughts, words and actions are mirrors of who we are, and they can help form our destiny. There is a lot of Christian wisdom to be gained from following the advice given.  By watching what we think, carefully choosing the words we speak and ensuring that our actions are fair and right with God, we can behave as He would want us to.  The devil can so easily slip into our thoughts and lead us to say or do things we wouldn't usually do.  Another way of being watchful is by praying and keeping our hearts still to observe the words of God.

Prayer

Lord help me recognise that  I must guard my thoughts and not give in to the temptations before me.  But at the same time recognise that my thoughts and actions get me into whatever situation I am in.  If I trust You, God, I can know I will be where You want me to be.

 

Day 33: Start yelling!

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Quote by Eugene Peterson

"The enemy of real prayer is 'nice' prayer

Thought

 We had a sermon from the book of Job today at church.  Our minister, Paul, used this quote in his sermon and it struck a chord with me.  At the moment, so many of my friends are facing real crisis and bad patches in their lives.  We pray for each other and ourselves in an almost apologetic way, saying "Your will be done" and "This is part of Your plan" when every fibre of our being wants to scream and rage at God.  And why don't we?  If one of our friends or partners has hurt us, we soon let them know.  Plenty of yelling or arguing!  And it doesn't diminish our relationship or stop us loving them; it clears the air and makes us feel better for having expressed our grievance.  So it should be with God.  We don't have to sit and meekly agree with all that is bad with the world.  He wants us to be honest with Him and to share our unhappiness, grief and growls.

When I lost my first baby, I can remember the comforting prayers of others, and I appreciated them.  But the thing I remember most is sitting with my mother and wailing and raging and her crying and wailing with me.  It was a true expression of the disconsolate pain I felt.  And that expression of grief was the most helpful to me and was a form of release for me.

Paul spoke of the wailing and lamenting the women from Eastern countries do, the ululation of grief or joy.  Very un-British!!!  But we should express ourselves with such passion, we should share our grief with God.  He will hold and comfort us as my mother did me.  He wants us to share our disappointments with him.  If we sit there and soppily say, ‘It is all OK’ how can he share our grief?

Prayer

Help me be honest with you God.  Let me feel able to express my true emotions and feeling to you, to pray without holding back.  I want my relationship with you to be open and honest.

Day 32: Love your neighbour

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Verse: Mark 12: 30-31

'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Thought

It is quite a call this.  To love God with every fibre of your being.  When you fall in love with a person, they totally engulf your life.  You think of them all the time and glow with the thought of them.  When I first became a Christian, that was true of my faith too.  But as the years pass in your marriage, frequently thoughts of your spouse are edged with "I hope he remembered....", "Why didn't he...." and it is easy to forget that early 'buzz' of love with the mundane everyday issues of life.  I think this happens with Christianity too.  We forget that early buzz and settle into routine.  But God is asking us to love Him with every fibre of our being, all the time.  
I live in a cul-de-sac of 7 houses and am lucky to really like all of my neighbours.  But I am a bit of a snob!  Move me a mile down the road and plonk me in the middle of the council estate and I may be less happy.  But it is those neighbours Jesus is talking about.  The people you don't really like and tend to avoid. The ones you don't really mix with and sometimes tend to avoid.   God is telling you to love them as yourself.  This means ensuring they are safe, warm, fed and generally OK. Every one wants to feel loved, to feel accepted and to feel they are part of a greater community, and it is our job to ensure they do.


Prayer
Farther God, help me to love you with every fibre of my being.  To wake in the morning excited about what the day will bring.  Let me share Your love with those around me, that I may be a good 'neighbour' and let others really feel Your warmth and love.

Day 31: A peaceful heart

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Verse:Proverbs 14:30 

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Thought

I love picking through proverbs and this was one that caught my eye.  When I am feeling low because things aren't as I feel they should be, I do think that I am more susceptible to picking up minor illnesses. I don't know whether it is just less easy to shrug off feeling a bit snuffly when I am down or whether I am actually worse.   Matthew Henry suggested that our health is dependent on our attitudes to life.  And I think this is true.  When you are fit and well, life's little foibles and minor illnesses just don't seem that big a deal, but equally, when you are poorly you can feel low, and vice versa .  But a bit of illness and unhappiness: - it all seems to spiral downwards, until you are just an unhappy little blob of misery.
I deal with a lot of stresses people (I may have mentioned this before) and there are always physical side effects  - headaches, stomach ulcers sometimes even cardiac events.  But anger, envy, stress, bitterness etc often seem punishment enough, leading to depression and unhappiness.

This proverbs is suggesting that a spiritually healthy spirit and a heart free of unwholesome attitudes promotes a physically healthy body.  Of course this doesn't mean Christians don't get sick or stressed, but it how we deal with it and maintain a relationship with God that is crucial.

Being submissive to God is to be in good spiritual health, whatever the condition of the body may be. 

Prayer

Help me always try to maintain a healthy heart for you God.  Let me be free from envy and unhappiness, and focused on you.