Prayer
'P' and I went to Cedar Point this summer with some friends. We were having a good time. My friend Joe and I decided to go to the car to get stuff for swimming, really it was 'P' and Joes' wife who decided, anyway, on our way back into the park I saw something that I had never seen in person before. There was a man in the parking lot between two cars on his hands and knees facing to the east, praying. This struck me today. How many of us go through the hustle and bustle of out lives and at the end of the day we just stop and go to bed? We are too busy, or too tired, to pray. I don't claim to know all of the answers but when I saw that man in that parking lot between those two cars at 2:00 in the afternoon taking 15 min out of his "vacation day" at the park to stop and pray it hit me, life is not about going here and going there. It is about taking time for the important things. Stopping to thank God and to worship Him all throughout the day, not just the morning and the night, not just when life slows down. I know that I myself am guilty of doing this. After seeing that it made me realize how much of an excuse "I'm tired" or "I'll do it tomorrow" really is.
Do you remember growing up? In my parents house one thing we always did before shutting off the lights and going to sleep was to say bedtime prayers. It got to be so much of a habit that I couldn't get to sleep without doing it. Then as I got older and went to college. It seems to me that the older you get the faster time goes. Life got hectic and prayer became less and less a part of my life. It seems to be that as something like that falls away it becomes harder and harder to start doing it again. So much so that you get to the point of questioning weather or not it is even worth it. I know the Bible says give everything to God but there is always that feeling of needing control. How many times have you said "Here God, here is this part of my problem but I am going to hang onto this part just in case."
Did you ever do that and then stop to think, just in case of what? What can we handle that God can't? I have a hard time though letting go of that other part and giving anything totally to God. This is something that I will be working on.
Aaron.
posted by Aaron @ 9:02 PM
2 Comments:
Thank you for this gem Aaron - it made me really stop and think. This week on the train home from work each evening I've been trying to pray. I started by going through all the youth from the senior high camp I counselled at and spending some time praying for each of them. I decided that I should make a schedule for myself of different people to pray for each day of the week. I decided on Wednesday that I would do this, but at this point I still haven't gotten around to making the schedule. You have inspired me to take some time this evening to start making it. I want to be thoughtful about it, so I don't want to do it instantly, but my goal will be to have a final schedule by the time I start school the week after labour day. Now that I've said that on here, I need to be accountable! :) It is so hard to be intentional about praying and taking time just to be with God, and yet it is probably the most important thing to do with one's time.
Aaron,
thank you for your post... I'm not sure why, but I needed to read these words...
Take care and peace be with you,
Lyle II
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