I have already confessed my failure in prayer.
But I will say it again, I am not good at praying. Not good at praying with out ceasing. Not good at praying before meals. But I do always pray as I am falling asleep, and when needed aloud in social settings.
The problem with all that praying (or lack there of) is it is totally formless. Now, you could say, "there is no wrong way to talk to God Brittany..." But George A. Buttrick disagrees in his writings from "Prayer".
To add a bit more depth and meaning to my prayers, I have noted his guidelines for prayer, and want to apply them to my bit of formlessness.
First, I am just getting out there and saying words. Half the time, nothing is premeditated. I want to begin by pausing, to soak in God's great glory, before I even speak to Him.
Second, I am an over-generalizer. I just say broad blanket prayers so as not to leave anyone or anything out. "Thank You for everything, God" usually just covers it. But why can I not just say what I am truly thankful for? I want to start getting specific with God, not just in prayers of thanks, but also prayers of need.
Lastly, I am a selfish person. Mostly, I just say what I need or what is bothering me. In class we have begun discussing the idea of "adjusting ourselves to God, instead of trying to adjust God to us." I have been working on this, and will constantly continue to be focusing my prayers outward.
In Richard Foster's book, "Celebration of Discipline", he discusses meditation as well. My favorite thing he said that has stuck with me since I read it was the "palms up, palms down" method, but I have tried over and over to apply it to my prayer discipline. Palms down - releasing all the conflictual issues and concerns in my life. Then Palms up - receiving strength and guidance to leave those problems in the hands of God and to be renewed to walk strong in faith.
I have a lot to work on.
Amen.
But I will say it again, I am not good at praying. Not good at praying with out ceasing. Not good at praying before meals. But I do always pray as I am falling asleep, and when needed aloud in social settings.
The problem with all that praying (or lack there of) is it is totally formless. Now, you could say, "there is no wrong way to talk to God Brittany..." But George A. Buttrick disagrees in his writings from "Prayer".
To add a bit more depth and meaning to my prayers, I have noted his guidelines for prayer, and want to apply them to my bit of formlessness.
First, I am just getting out there and saying words. Half the time, nothing is premeditated. I want to begin by pausing, to soak in God's great glory, before I even speak to Him.
Second, I am an over-generalizer. I just say broad blanket prayers so as not to leave anyone or anything out. "Thank You for everything, God" usually just covers it. But why can I not just say what I am truly thankful for? I want to start getting specific with God, not just in prayers of thanks, but also prayers of need.
Lastly, I am a selfish person. Mostly, I just say what I need or what is bothering me. In class we have begun discussing the idea of "adjusting ourselves to God, instead of trying to adjust God to us." I have been working on this, and will constantly continue to be focusing my prayers outward.
In Richard Foster's book, "Celebration of Discipline", he discusses meditation as well. My favorite thing he said that has stuck with me since I read it was the "palms up, palms down" method, but I have tried over and over to apply it to my prayer discipline. Palms down - releasing all the conflictual issues and concerns in my life. Then Palms up - receiving strength and guidance to leave those problems in the hands of God and to be renewed to walk strong in faith.
I have a lot to work on.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment