So tell me abut your pray life?
One the questions that comes up with the Commission on Ministry has to do with ones Prayer Life. This is a question that is put to most all of the people who desire to become ordained into one of the orders, and I figures that since I ask the question of those that I am Shepard to and interview on there pathway, I should answer the question myself.
As it would be seen in the eyes of most people, they would say that my prayer life sucks, because I don’t get up early, or go to bed early, nor do I have a regular routine that most people would recognize. For me, setting aside a time and place for regular pray would only be empty and wasted time. I am not saying that it is what is do is truly 100% right, but it is what I find that works well for me.
I will admit that at times when I am in a church service, I really can’t get into the prayers that are going on, and will even think about other stuff. But there are times when I am in a service and I am really moved by the prayers that are occurring at the moment. I am sure that there are some who are reading this who feel that I am wrong for this, but really think about the time that you are spending in church and what you really are doing is just saying the words from your mouth, but not really saying them from your heart. What is so different about it? I am being open and honest about it.
But don’t get me wrong, as there are many a time when I am really praying through my heart as we say prayers during service, but I also recognize that there are times when I am just having the words come out of my mouth.
My prayer life is something that I don’t confine to just certain times and/or days, but something that I try and do at all times. Some people will look up on what I am doing as meditation in the way that that they may see me doing it, and at other times they will not even realize that I am praying. I will spend time praying at all kinds of times. You may not see my mouth moving, but I feel that prayer is something that you can do through your mind without opening your lips.
There are times that I am traveling from one place to another and am in a conversation with someone, and while we are conversing with each other I am praying in my head. Now this doesn’t mean that I am not paying attention to the other person, it means that I am expanding my mind and heart to allow it to happen. I am taking those feelings of anger and pushing them aside.
Many people have written books and given lectures and sermons on what they call the proper way to pray, but to me the proper way to pray many times is just between yourself and God. What works best for people is an individual thing, not something that can really be put down on paper or spoken. Yes those books, sermons and etc can help you find what works for you, but you can’t put limits upon the way that ones prays.
I really don’t think that God will reject your prayers if you are sitting on an airplane looking out the window and saying thanks for the beauty of the earth. I don’t think that God is going to reject your prayers if you take a quick second and ask God to forgive someone that you have heard about on the news who has done wrong. You must remember that we are ALL God Children, and wouldn’t you want for that person to pray for you when you have done something wrong?
So what is my prayer life like? I pray as I travel around from one place to another. I pray as I sit and watch TV. I pray as I do stuff on the Internet. I pray at all kinds of times and in all kinds of places. Am I in constant prayer. I can honestly say that I am not. I can honestly say that I should pray more than I do. I can honestly say that I try to pray as much as I can.
So sit and think about it, what is your prayer life like?