Tag: praying

Richer Prayer Life in 7 days? (not an ad for SHAMWOW)

Sounds like an info-mmmmercial….

There I said it. It’s out there.

No. It’s not. Nothing to buy here. Slowly unclench your “click away finger.” Breathe deeply.

You are among friends, and not the ones you will find at a used car lot. (Don’t they always seem to act like that?)

:)

I’ve asked some friends to join me in this, but now I pose the invitation to all of you… out “there”… on the interwebs…

Here’s what it’s all about:

I’d like to join with you, and as many of you (pl) as possible, over the next week, to do the prayer exercise from the previous post. The challenge is to encounter this prayer form/exercise/format (what-have-you) I created just 3, or more times, in one week’s time. I hope you really enjoy it. I also hope you can help me, by leaving us your feedback here, (with your comments, thoughts, and insights- both positive, and/or negative).

Just 7 bitty days. Pray 3 times in 7 days. As you give it a try, you can expect it to be about 7 min long. Perhaps, this will increase the more you experience it.

You could probably do that in your sleep, right? But, then, obviously, it would be harder to remember what happened that way, huh? I should have said, “You could do that standing on your head.” I thought about it, and then thought better, because that actually sounded too challenging and so-very ascetic. So, I didn’t want to go there. Whew. I think I really dodged a bullet. hmm.

The next 7 days could be the breakthrough you’ve been hoping for. Let’s find out.

So, won’t you please join me?Read it here.
Bring a friend along, too.

Thank you so much!

I look forward to reading your insights and comments.

5 Ways to Know if You Pray Like a Consumerist…

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.

 

busy day

 

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?