Topics pertain in some way to the unseen realm of Reality, the inner world, or the Divine, most often in a Christian and ecumenical context with the assumption that all people are in reality, beings with and of spirit.
This tongue-in-cheek post gave me a chuckle:
The Sales Pitch Prayer Request or
How To Get Whatever You Ask For in Prayer – by Jarrod Haggard
Post was submitted to the stuff Christians like blog by Jon Acuff. Jon is clever and generous. I’ve enjoyed his blog for a few years now. I’ll be featured as a guest writer there on 9/18/09.
A little while back, I responded to a reader asking if drinking coffee, (and other such things) were actually spiritual. You can look that up if you want to, if you want to read the post in full. But, in the post I talk about a truly interesting spiritual practice monks have used with coffee.
It gives me pause to realize how I may incorporate what I usually think of as “secular,” or everyday/common things, into the realm of sacred. This way, all of life is both a physical and spiritual experience, and a way to revere, love, and acknowledge our Creator. It is doing all of life as prayer.
As for me, I love coffee. I have since age 5. I would wait until my dad wasn’t looking, and I’d slurp down his milky sugary mixture, even if it had gone cold. Spiritually it does play a part in my life. It’s a way to sit back, and take in life, and to be more “in the moment.” I love to remember God is not apart from me, “over there,” or “in the sky,” but always with me. And, I enjoy realizing he delights in my enjoyment of things he has given me, even such things as simple as a good hot brew. So, I invite him into that experience fully, (when I have the right mind, and will to do so.)
I have a bag of delicious coffee to give to the visitor who best reveals, in the comment section below, how and why coffee (or tea, if you must) is, or has been, an enjoyment to them, or even a spiritual aid to their journey with God. Have at it.
If you know a coffee lover, point them in this direction. Hopefully, we can contribute to the dialogue on this topic.
Keep on brewin’! :)
Do you Pray like a Consumerist, and don’t know it? Many of us have slipped into a consumer mindset, and don’t realize it. (It’s a North AMerican speciality!) It could be hurting our spiritual growth.
Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to see if you may need some kind of revision in your communication with God.
You may be praying like a consumerist if…
1. Your praying resembles window-shopping, or a trip to the superstore with a credit card.
2. If you imagine God a bit like a waiter, or butler in the sky.
3. If bargaining or haggling seeps into your communication to God.
4. If waiting for answers to your prayer requests is just as awful, or feels eerily similar, to waiting in a long checkout line.
5. If your prayers tend to be mainly focused on you, and your concerns, and often do not include worship, praise, gratitude, or…and this is a big one…listening (because communication doesn’t consist of just talking).
If you answered “yes” to 2 or more of these questions, consider revising how you view and engage in prayer, and communication with your God: Creator and Redeemer.
The Takeaway– Prayer is communication.
It changes us because through it we may become more like our God, if we yield to God and allow him to work in our hearts. When God is the primary focus of our prayer life, more growth is possible. And like I mentioned, this involves both speaking and listening to him.
(For a new way to engage in prayer using Scripture, and a focus on listening to God, do a search here for Lectio Divina.)
Thanks for reading!
Leave your responses. Was there ever a time when you prayed like a consumerist?
This goodie this month is a book give-away available to visitors from now until the end of September. To be eligible, simply leave a comment below stating your interest. One recipient will be picked at random. (Detailed book information below.)
We live in a high-maintenance world; cars, homes, computers, and even relationships need continual attention. But what about our souls, the center of our selves where our passions, gifts, and individuality unite? Do we ever consider what it means to care for our souls? In a world where the quick fix and instant gratifications are many people’s most immediate focus, author Steve Smith invites the reader to focus on what truly matters most; the lifelong process of nurturing our souls by focusing on relationships, spiritual and personal growth and healing, and living out God’s purpose for our lives. Step off the hamster wheel of endless activity and purposeless action to find a deeper sense of self and spiritual transformation. Foreword by Dr. Gary Chapman.
Smith, a confessed former workaholic, introduces readers to the unique joy of caring for the soul, which he says “contains the deepest part of who we are.” This founder of the Potter’s Inn Ministry, which helps people experience soul transformation, shares his wealth of knowledge about the soul in 92 brief chapters presented in 13 sections that address issues such as soul identity, soul formation and threats to the soul. Each chapter includes several questions to help readers address their own soul struggles. Smith certainly covers all the bases of the soul, but one wishes for more depth. Staccato chapters whet the appetite for deeper exploration, but Smith moves on quickly to new topics. The book, however, does bring important issues to light. He speaks often of the need for those who believe in God to slow down; he urges readers to use their senses to nurture the soul and highlights the importance of companionship on the soul journey. Studying the soul, he says, “is an incomparable journey to explore the depths and heights of the soul, for we travel the contours of a holy land.” (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Biography
The founder of The Potter’s Inn, Stephen W. Smith has been involved in Christian ministry for more than twenty-five years. He and his wife, Gwen, are frequent speakers and retreat leaders who focus on the spiritual growth and transformation of individuals, couples, churches, and organizations.
Have you ever wondered what prayer is all about? Not just that it’s important, but why it is, or how it changes us? Why might God wish us to do it? Why did Jesus do it? I have.
In my Christian education class at church on Sunday, we’ve been going through the book by Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does it Make a Difference. I recommend it highly. It discusses the questions many of us have wrestled with regarding prayer. Such as, “If God knows everything, what is the purpose of asking him?” or “What is happening when it seems like God is silent, and my prayers seem to just be hitting the ceiling?” or “What should I pray to God? What is off limits? Is it for him that I pray, for me, or both of us?” Yancey goes through plenty of tough prayer-related subjects honestly, without pat answers.
If you’ve read this book, what did you like, or what didn’t you like?
What have been the most helpful thing or things you’ve learned about prayer? What books have helped you? Please, leave a comment or lesson you’ve learned here.
