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| Photo by Mark Penta |
A friend posted this photo on FaceBook and made the comment there, "I like the three sections; earth, water, air. All I did was show up..."
Prayer is something like that. The imminence, the power and the spirit of God are always there, waiting for us. We just have to show up...
"Praying 10 Minutes a Day" is intended to help all of us "show up" for prayer.
Off line, a reader asked for a suggestion on how to begin his "10 minutes a day" of prayer in Lent. That's a good question.
Let me suggest a kind of "opening prayer" for our 10 minutes each day:
A prayer to begin my prayer...To pray is to recognize that I am in God's presence, in the presence of God who wants me, who seeks me, who desires to be with me.
Lord Jesus:
you are here now,
always
and only
because you want me
and want to be with me.
Lord Jesus:
I am here now,
again
and only
because I want you
and want to be with you.
Lord Jesus,
help me surrender
to your love,
your mercy
and your Holy Spirit...
To pray is to be still, that I might know the Lord's presence and hear the Lord's voice.
His voice might be the silence in which I sit...
His voice might be my heartbeat, the pulse of his love within me...
His voice might be my breath, the spirit of his life sustaining me...
His voice might speak in the scripture I read or the verse I pray by heart...
His voice might be the consolation of knowing he is with me, that he is always with me, that he will never leave my side...
Keep in mind that every time we go to pray, it is at the Spirit's prompting... Keep in mind that when we go to pray, we need not look for the Lord - he's there ahead of us, waiting for us to join him... Keep in mind that when we pray even our confused, clumsy ramblings are music to God's ears... Keep in mind that to simply sit in the presence of the Lord in silence is, itself, a beautiful prayer... If you're not sure what to say, try simply repeating the Lord's name, slowly and prayerfully, "Jesus... Jesus... Jesus... Jesus..."
I hope that by now you have found a good time and place for your daily "10 minutes." If not, look around and find a place apart, where you can be alone, in silence.
Having trouble disciplining yourself to be faithful to even just 10 minutes a day? Put the 10 minutes on your calendar or your planner. Set your watch or smart phone to remind you to pray. Prayer happens when we make time for the Lord!
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My prayer time is different on Saturday's and Sunday's...not the structure of the week days. Today I am going to be faced with a significant challenge, rather than give in to fear I want to jump in with faith...but I know if I'm to do that my day needs to start with my weekday discipline. Part of me was feeling guilty that I was in need so was willing to spend more time in prayer...then i read this line "Keep in mind that every time we go to pray, it is at the Spirit's prompting..." What a blessing, it is as tho the He is saying "I want to be with you, your intuition to trust me is right, I will give you what you need." Knowing the prompting came from Him let me know that my way of praying on weekends is just fine, and He will call when he knows i need more.
ReplyDeleteI feel bathed in a special kind of love because of your reminder, thanks...I've no doubt the Spirit led me to this page as i begin my prayer time! I have a certain confidence that this challenge will go a it should!!!
JW
Thanks for sharing this, JW. Messages like yours make this venture all the more worthwhile!
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