I don't know how many other people feel this way but I know that sometimes when I know I should be praying I find myself feeling like I am against a wall, kind of like writers block. Sometimes I just feel like I need to have a prepared speech before I pray, of course that isn't true. I know that I don't actually need to prepare or rehearse anything to say to God, He just wants me to talk to Him.
Sometimes I just don't know where to start my conversations with Him, once I get talking I can usually just keep on talking for a little while. I find a good place to start is always with praise and thanksgiving, just telling Him how good He is and how much I love Him. I thank Him for breath of life a lot, I think I do that because it is so basic to us to breathe, it's something we don't even think about. He has to either give or take away our breath so, every day that I wake up I thank Him for giving me breath and giving me the opportunity to further His Kingdom for another day.
Even after I start talking sometimes I find myself at a loss for words, I think a lot of times I feel like He already knows everything so what's the point of talking to Him about it. I came to the revelation tonight that sometimes just talking to God about what is going on in your life, telling Him about your day, telling Him about your problems; it really helps to get the conversation going. I think that is why I find that God speaks to me more when I write in my journal; I am writing about the things that He is doing, about things in my life, He responds when I talk to Him about things.
God does already know everything, He knew long before you were born the exact moment that you would enter this world and the exact moment you will leave it, and everything in between. Although, He knows all of this He still wants to talk to us, He wants to help us through these things. When we don't talk to Him we are just blindly walking through life without direction; it would be like driving to the opposite side of the country and never asking the person in the passenger seat to tell you what the map says. God has the map of our lives and we don't know all the answers; talking to Him, seeking His guidance, and His direction allows us glimpses into the future and keeps us from going astray or getting distracted.
Still other times prayer just overwhelms me, I feel like everyone wants me to pray for them (and I'm not even a pastor or a leader, I can't imagine how they feel). Don't misunderstand me here, it's not that I don't want to pray for people, I do, I just want it to be heartfelt and meaningful when I do. I put to much pressure on myself though, I make up all these crazy rules that make me feel guilty if I don't pray long enough for someone or if I simply forget to pray for them. I never want anyone to ask me for prayer and not receive it, now that I think about it I should never ever have trouble finding something to talk to God about because there are always a bunch of people that need prayer. The focus of our prayers all too often begins "God please help ME with..." maybe we should spend a little less time sending up requests on our own behalf and spend way more time praying for others.
I believe the Lord wants to raise up an entire nation of intercessors; not just people who pray when they have a bad day or think they may die; not just people who pray for themselves or their families. God wants to see people love their neighbor as themselves, pray for other people at least as much as you pray for yourself, I believe God will reward us and those we are praying for greatly for this. He wants us to pray with conviction and belief that His promises with come to pass. Every tongue shall confess, every knee will bow; there are entire nations and people groups that have never heard of His love, there are people here in our own country that have never been told what Jesus did for them. If we can find nothing else to pray for, pray for the salvation of your brothers and sisters across the world, across the nations, across our country, across the street, across the hall, maybe even across the room. I know that I want there to be less of me and more of Him, I want to put others before myself, I want to love all people. God wants to hear people love each other so much that we don't even think about our problems when we are praying, all we can think is that there are 100 other people we know that need prayer on their behalf.
Think about it this way, we have a direct line to God twenty-four hours a day seven days a week, we have plenty of time to petition on our own behalf. There are so many people out there who don't even know Him, they don't know they can ask for His help, those people are dependent on us to pray on their behalf because it is something they cannot do for themselves until they have a personal relationship with Him. I am not suggesting that we never pray for ourselves or talk to God about our own relationship with Him. That is very important, we cannot be of use to others if we don't have a good relationship with Him and maintain that relationship. We have to remain spiritually fed to be able to share with others. Even Jesus took time to pray alone and spend time with His Father, we too should spend quality time with our Father. Sometimes you just need to get really close to Him, be quiet, be still, and listen for Him to whisper into your soul.
Father please forgive me for my lack of communication with you, please show me the opportunities to pray and talk to you that I am missing every day. I love you Lord, I praise you for all you have done, are doing, and will do in the future. I pray that I find new opportunities to talk to you more and more every day, I want to pray without ceasing. I want to hear your voice constantly, I want my heart to become like your heart.
In Christ's Love,
Reed Eden
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