As a Christian I have always struggled with prayer. I know that sounds rather funny and maybe even a little contradictory for someone who is a Christian. I mean it would seem that we should just know how to pray. But that just isn’t the case. There are times when I just don’t even have the words to say and sometimes all that comes up from my heart is “help.” In *Foster’s book, he begins in the very first chapter with the concept of simple prayer. God wants to know us in all ways and be in an intimate relationship with us which means that we should feel comfortable going to him with all things even if that is just a quick statement asking God to be with us through out the day in all our activities. What happens, at least for me, is that we tend to make prayer something that has to eloquent and deeply theological all the time. We put expectations on ourselves that God just does not. So I turn to the Bible and when I go to the scriptures I discover that many of the great saints did not pray lofty prayers. In fact a lot of them were complaints! My discovery has been that God accepts us just as we are which includes the prayers we lift up to him. Maybe we need to acept ourselves just as we are and allow God to help us along the way as we grow in our faith and in our prayers. What I am discovering is that it doesn’t have to be so complicated. I don’t have to be eloquent, nor should I always expect divine revelations every time I pray. What I need to remember is that it is through prayer that I am developing my relationship with God. So I will continue to strive and struggle and pray knowing that God is with me and he is able to translate my deepest desires and needs. Amen and Amen.
In Christ,
Beth
*Reference: Richard J. Foster “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home”
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