Prayer… Meeting Him in the Process
I want to offer you this week two prayers from the book Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder. When I read them, I find myself caught up in hope. Hope that I will one day be as the poems describe. That God in his wisdom and kindness is working out in me the process to make me like Him. As cliché as it sounds, that hope is what we encounter in prayer.
Prayer… Listening to the Echoes
Sometimes it helps me, when there are no words to pray, to simply sit and listen for the echoes within. So often I think “there have to be words in prayer,” and often there are, I’m just not always sure how to get them out. But, more and more, I’m finding I have less and less words. In their place, I have sensations, pictures, and resounding groans — which sound deep and dark, but aren’t really.
Prayer… We’ll Figure it Out as We Go Along
Have you ever had that feeling where you know there are lots of words, emotions, pictures, and sensations rolling around inside you, but you’re not sure how to get them out? I have that feeling often. I know I have something to say, I know I want to say it, I’m looking for the right words, and sometimes I think I know what those words are; but when the rubber meets the road, I’m not sure how to get it out.
Prayer… Simply Being Close
I just want to be close, God. I really miss you. I miss feeling you near me. And I know prayer is the way to do that, to get close… but I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong. And why would you listen to me anyway? You’ve already planned out what you’re going to do, and what’s going to happen next. You’re already moving in the world, quietly present behind the scenes— I believe that! So, if all that’s true, why would you bother listening to me? Or better yet, why do you ask me to pray when nothing I say ultimately matters? Why pray?
Meeting God in the Hard Things
For about a month I had been stuck on a decision that was looming in front of me. The deadline was now just days away, and I had flip flopped a few (dozen) times about what would be the best thing to do. The decision didn’t directly impact other people; it was just something I needed to decide, and I was having a hard time hearing God amid the “noise” of daily life.
Rooted in Love
Have you ever been so mad that you wanted to throw a cup at someone’s head? I have. We might need to do another blog on anger management, but for now, suffice it to say that I was also shocked at what wanted to come out of me that day. Thankfully I was able to get out the door before I moved into action and had a dear friend to process what had happened. As I told her about my turmoil of being discounted, she slowed me down long enough to name the emotion and the memory associated with it.
