New dimension to prayer

[dayhiker]

I write this in another place, it seems to be something that God is speaking to me about prayer and my relationship with Him this year. I've had a certain frustration with prayer for the last 30 yrs. Some of my prayers, like a handful, had miraculous answers, but most seemed to just go up to God and get no response back. I always felt like I had a connection with God, yet a talk with a friend was so much more real and commutative than my prayers with God, yet why couldn't I also have that type of communion with God? Now this year God has turned my thinking about my prayer life on its head!

When I was young I tended to be more formal in how I prayed and had lists of people and things I'd pray about.
Then there were years where I'd try to be instant in prayer, the lists and dedicated times fell away, I'd pray for things/people as they came up. I still do this.
Then I started to understand that a practice that I'd developed when I was about 12 kinda without understanding it has been more important in my life than I realized. I almost always woke up before I needed to so rather than get out of bed, I'd lay there thinking about my life, other people and issues I wanted to understand, sometimes even preaching sermons. I might be half awake. I had no agenda. It might be 5 mins or an hour. But I've come to learn that this was a meditation, a connection between my spirit and my mind, a time when God could put a thought into my heart, a time when the Bible could go from an intellectual reading to a directive for me to live by. This time kep me heart and mind current with who I was and what God wanted in my life. But took me 45 years to realize how valuable this was to my spiritual health.

Then a few years ago God started to take my understanding by adding another way to talk with God, to serve God and to be God's friend. The verse were Jesus said if you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me. Could I really believe if I befriended a person that I'd be a friend with God? Could I go talk with a person who needed someone to listen to him and it was as if I'd listened to God? If I when on a date that I'd been on a date with God. The more I thought about how God was with me in everything I do. So when ever I do something to help a person feel loved, I started to feel I'd loved God. It was an amazing feeling and the Spirit of God in me has been there in an amazing way. People have been wanting to be with me when in the past I'd just stand on the side watching people. I'd spend time with a person and I'd hear them saying all these nice compliments to me that I never even hinted that I wanted. So could I know go further and since I'd views this friending of people as being me being a friend to God and was now God speaking back to me words of affirmation? It seems that the Spirit of God is saying this to me. I seem to have an intimate communication with God that I never had before thru people that I accept and love and bless simply by friending them.

I've had a lot of love in my life, but a few weeks ago this thought when thru my mind and felt so true. I feel more loved than I every have in my whole life.

 

[carole2u]

I write this in another place, it seems to be something that God is speaking to me about prayer and my relationship with Him this year. I've had a certain frustration with prayer for the last 30 yrs. Some of my prayers, like a handful, had miraculous answers, but most seemed to just go up to God and get no response back. I always felt like I had a connection with God, yet a talk with a friend was so much more real and commutative than my prayers with God, yet why couldn't I also have that type of communion with God? Now this year God has turned my thinking about my prayer life on its head!

When I was young I tended to be more formal in how I prayed and had lists of people and things I'd pray about.
Then there were years where I'd try to be instant in prayer, the lists and dedicated times fell away, I'd pray for things/people as they came up. I still do this.
Then I started to understand that a practice that I'd developed when I was about 12 kinda without understanding it has been more important in my life than I realized. I almost always woke up before I needed to so rather than get out of bed, I'd lay there thinking about my life, other people and issues I wanted to understand, sometimes even preaching sermons. I might be half awake. I had no agenda. It might be 5 mins or an hour. But I've come to learn that this was a meditation, a connection between my spirit and my mind, a time when God could put a thought into my heart, a time when the Bible could go from an intellectual reading to a directive for me to live by. This time kep me heart and mind current with who I was and what God wanted in my life. But took me 45 years to realize how valuable this was to my spiritual health.

Then a few years ago God started to take my understanding by adding another way to talk with God, to serve God and to be God's friend. The verse were Jesus said if you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me. Could I really believe if I befriended a person that I'd be a friend with God? Could I go talk with a person who needed someone to listen to him and it was as if I'd listened to God? If I when on a date that I'd been on a date with God. The more I thought about how God was with me in everything I do. So when ever I do something to help a person feel loved, I started to feel I'd loved God. It was an amazing feeling and the Spirit of God in me has been there in an amazing way. People have been wanting to be with me when in the past I'd just stand on the side watching people. I'd spend time with a person and I'd hear them saying all these nice compliments to me that I never even hinted that I wanted. So could I know go further and since I'd views this friending of people as being me being a friend to God and was now God speaking back to me words of affirmation? It seems that the Spirit of God is saying this to me. I seem to have an intimate communication with God that I never had before thru people that I accept and love and bless simply by friending them.

I've had a lot of love in my life, but a few weeks ago this thought when thru my mind and felt so true. I feel more loved than I every have in my whole life.

I love this, thank you for sharing. I too believe when we love others - truly, God shows us their need and when we help them, we ARE loving God.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

excellent dayhiker! I have fallen away from how I was doing things, but I too, wanted to wake up and acknowledge God first before my feet ever hit the floor. Having a puppy that needs to go potty has put a damper on that, but I used to lay in bed after my alarm clock went off and Say Good Morning Father God, Good Morning Jesus, Good Morning Holy Spirit and then I would pray about what ever was on my heart. I am getting back on track of saying Good Morning, but I usually pray on the way to work because I have been reluctant to get out of bed earlier like I used to. I stay up too late at night. Then after I read my proverb of the day, I write in my journal. Sometimes it's a prayer to God, sometimes it's whatever is on my heart that morning. I write one page only per day, but I do it everyday.
But I think you are on to something! My desire and prayer lately is to please God and to do what He wants me to do. This morning I told Him I wanted to feel that I was on the right path. Most of the time I am not sure, and sometimes it works out and sometimes not. But this does sound like God is speaking to you! And us thru you!

 

[dayhiker]

Sounds like your journaling does the same thing as my meditation, Michelle. I do miss not having some of my past thoughts to go back to. As I know some of those thoughts were really meaningful to me and seemed to be anointed by the Holy Spirit. It would be great to have them to go back to.

Tho I have thought that I have a long history now if my thoughts here on CF that is like a journal for sure. To I confess I can't spoke about all topics that interest me here like I have thought about them when its just me and God.