Jesus,
I ask that you please give me a great day today. Please bless me and help me get through the challenges and trials that await me, the big ones and the little ones. Help me to be patient and not be easily annoyed. Keep me safe, help me watch over my mouth, and just give me joy bombs.
Amen.
I say this prayer a lot, almost word for word many days while driving to work.
In this simple prayer there are five sentences.
Jesus' name is mentioned once, alluded another time.
My name (me) is mentioned nine times.
Trials/Challenges/Issues/Annoyances are mentioned four times.
Joy is mentioned once, as is safety.
"Please" is only mentioned twice.
There are six "demands", even though they are "nicely" worded.
There are 0 times I prayed for anything for anyone else but myself.
See the problem?
It's a simple, selfish prayer.
Please understand, I don't only pray this prayer. I do pray for others, but to be completely and brutually honest with myself, I don't do it enough. And when I do, I usually repeat myself...
A few weeks ago we had a team (youth group) from Canada come to my work. (Background info: I work with Youth With A Mission in the Mission Adventures department. Basically it's my job to help train people of all ages how to evangelize via fun outreaches, teachings, exercises, etc. It's a fully serviced missions trip program that literally takes care of everything: http://www.missionadventures.net/ywam-las-vegas/)
One of the outreaches we do is called "Free Prayer." During "FP" we go to Fremont Street where staff hold giant signs that read "Free Prayer", and the kids go in pairs around the sign and offer free prayer to those who pass us. One of the pairs approached a man and offered him prayer. He replied something to the effect of, "I will let you pray for me on one condition, you say a prayer for me that you have never prayed for anyone else..."
Whoa.
A prayer I have never prayed for anyone else? Isn't that what I should be doing anyways? If I say the same prayer for everyone I met just on FP alone, what good is the point of praying? At this point it becomes more of a quote than a prayer. A prayer should come from your heart. It should be said as God is speaking it to you. A prayer should be said from the heart which longs for the best interest of man because the Holy Spirit of Creator God is speaking to you about that person, not as a combination of eloquent words that the mind of man makes up to make someone feel good momentarily. Prayer should bring transformation, not emotion.
This story got me thinking, how many times have I truly prayed from the heart and not just the mind?
How many times have I repeated the same prayer because it sounded good, and it would do?
How many times have I truly sought the Lord's best interest for the people with whom I prayed?
How many times have I prayed?
How many of those prayers were just about me and my issues?
How many times have I prayed for me before I prayed for someone else?
My mom had arthritis that was healed 10 years ago, but now it's back and spreading. I have a nice little post-it note on my "Prayer Corkboard" that says "Mom has rheumatoid arthritis in her foot-- Aug. 5, 2011." But when was the last time I actually prayed it out rather than let an inanimate piece of paper pray for my own mother?
God does not convict us to make us feel bad. He convicts us, at least is convicting me, because he wants me to grow in this area. He wants me to learn from those mistakes. He wants me to pray for my city, for my family, for His children--the lost and the found. I have and know of plenty of people who pray for me, but it's time I start doing my part in praying for them...
I ask that you please give me a great day today. Please bless me and help me get through the challenges and trials that await me, the big ones and the little ones. Help me to be patient and not be easily annoyed. Keep me safe, help me watch over my mouth, and just give me joy bombs.
Amen.
I say this prayer a lot, almost word for word many days while driving to work.
In this simple prayer there are five sentences.
Jesus' name is mentioned once, alluded another time.
My name (me) is mentioned nine times.
Trials/Challenges/Issues/Annoyances are mentioned four times.
Joy is mentioned once, as is safety.
"Please" is only mentioned twice.
There are six "demands", even though they are "nicely" worded.
There are 0 times I prayed for anything for anyone else but myself.
See the problem?
It's a simple, selfish prayer.
Please understand, I don't only pray this prayer. I do pray for others, but to be completely and brutually honest with myself, I don't do it enough. And when I do, I usually repeat myself...
A few weeks ago we had a team (youth group) from Canada come to my work. (Background info: I work with Youth With A Mission in the Mission Adventures department. Basically it's my job to help train people of all ages how to evangelize via fun outreaches, teachings, exercises, etc. It's a fully serviced missions trip program that literally takes care of everything: http://www.missionadventures.net/ywam-las-vegas/)
One of the outreaches we do is called "Free Prayer." During "FP" we go to Fremont Street where staff hold giant signs that read "Free Prayer", and the kids go in pairs around the sign and offer free prayer to those who pass us. One of the pairs approached a man and offered him prayer. He replied something to the effect of, "I will let you pray for me on one condition, you say a prayer for me that you have never prayed for anyone else..."
Whoa.
A prayer I have never prayed for anyone else? Isn't that what I should be doing anyways? If I say the same prayer for everyone I met just on FP alone, what good is the point of praying? At this point it becomes more of a quote than a prayer. A prayer should come from your heart. It should be said as God is speaking it to you. A prayer should be said from the heart which longs for the best interest of man because the Holy Spirit of Creator God is speaking to you about that person, not as a combination of eloquent words that the mind of man makes up to make someone feel good momentarily. Prayer should bring transformation, not emotion.
This story got me thinking, how many times have I truly prayed from the heart and not just the mind?
How many times have I repeated the same prayer because it sounded good, and it would do?
How many times have I truly sought the Lord's best interest for the people with whom I prayed?
How many times have I prayed?
How many of those prayers were just about me and my issues?
How many times have I prayed for me before I prayed for someone else?
My mom had arthritis that was healed 10 years ago, but now it's back and spreading. I have a nice little post-it note on my "Prayer Corkboard" that says "Mom has rheumatoid arthritis in her foot-- Aug. 5, 2011." But when was the last time I actually prayed it out rather than let an inanimate piece of paper pray for my own mother?
God does not convict us to make us feel bad. He convicts us, at least is convicting me, because he wants me to grow in this area. He wants me to learn from those mistakes. He wants me to pray for my city, for my family, for His children--the lost and the found. I have and know of plenty of people who pray for me, but it's time I start doing my part in praying for them...
Luke 11:2-4,
Saint (Under Construction)
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