A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 Minutes a Day: First Week/Monday

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Here are some thoughts you might bring to your "10 Minutes" today.

The relationships we have with others go by many names:

Daughter
Son
Father
Mother
Brother
Sister
Spouse
Lover
Friend
Teammate
Neighbor
Acquaintance
Colleague
Boss
Employee
Caretaker
and many others, too!

Do any of these terms, or others, describe my relationship with God? Does that description tell me something of how close I am to God? of how close I believe God is to me?

The illustration at the top of the post gives many names for God, each revealing some way in which we relate to him. (Click on the image for a clearer version.) How do I address God in my prayer? By what name do I address God? What does that tell me about my relationship with him?

By what name does God know me? Do I listen for God to call me by name?

How I understand my relationship with God likely shapes my prayer and my approach to prayer. How I understand God's relationship with me may do the same.

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions - only the answers that are mine. To better understand my relationship with God, whatever it is at the moment, gives me a starting place from which to grow in that relationship.

How might I grow in my relationship to God this Lent? How do I want to grow in that relationship?

Perhaps today I'll spend some time in prayer, reflecting on my relationship with the One to whom I pray, the One who listens to my prayer...

To help you settle in to Praying 10 Minutes a Day in Lent, you might want to take another look at this and subsequent posts in this series.