Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Recent thoughts on prayer

I was just thinking today (July 27) that I need to not be so hard on myself, trying to remember all the things I feel I need/should be praying for... There are SO MANY good things to pray for and people to pray for--I don't want to forget anyone! I want to continually pray that I'll understand the Father's grace more, pray for Him to be glorified, pray for me to know Him more, pray that I'll trust Him more, pray using His words... the list has no end. Everytime I hear something new or even something old, I think, oh yeah, that’s a good thing to pray for every day. That’s a good thing to pursue. Or, man, I forgot to be praying about that.... The guilt never ends!

After a discussion with some friends on the importance of prayer & our inability to even do that on our own, it began to hit me that He even guides in what and how we pray. A friend said that once while praying about a certain issue on her heart, she felt the Father informing her that He had already taken care of the issue and she need not think on it again. Now, with a different heart issue, she feels He has not yet released her but wants her to be like the persistent widow before the judge (Lk 18).

A day or 2 went by. Rummaging around my room I saw the name of a person I had not thought about for quite some time, and offered a quick prayer for her. The next day I received an email from someone, asking me to pray for that very same lady, who, it turned out, was in a special situation at that moment! It really blew me away in light of my recent thoughts on the matter of prayer. Since then I have been aware of many seemingly random thoughts/insights about daily life that have left me thinking, I do believe that is a prayer He wants me to pray! He really does lead in all things--even to the tiny details of the thoughts I have! It has given me a new and different appreciation for Ro. 8:26 which says (CEV): "In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words."

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