Simple Prayer
If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time to pray.
from A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller
This is one of the disciplines that is close to my heart and really the basis for which all other disciplines build on. Read on to find out how to spend time with God.
For so many years of my Christian life, I missed out; I missed out on having intimacy with God like He was my friend, my Father, my everything.
I kept Him at arm’s length partly out of fear of what He would ask me to do – “Don’t ask me to do anything outlandish, God. Don’t ask me to marry a pastor or be a missionary – I don’t want to be poor”.
I never desired to be rich, but growing up in a home where money was almost a constant concern, especially in my teen years when I was more aware of our circumstances, affected me.
I thought if I made wise financial decisions (without God), I could keep myself and my future family from having to live that way as well.
Prayer is Inviting God In
I am not downplaying this; my emotions around money from childhood were real. As a single mom on a limited income, I would have mini panic attacks at the grocery store. However, recognizing and bringing those feelings to the surface is important.
Before I would have pushed down those feelings and told myself I could handle it. Now I could invite God into those feelings. The naming of that feeling, anxiety, was a gift from God and gave me the opportunity to place it in His hands. He is now my partner in life. We share the yoke. (Matthew 11:28-29)
Keeping God at arm’s length meant I missed out on so many benefits of being in a relationship with Him-experiencing His delight in me, gentle nudges, huge steps of faith, peace of His presence, conviction, and the list goes on.
I do not want you, dear reader, to miss out on what God has for you! We can only get to know someone by spending time with them. It is not any different with God.
Prayer Is Talking to God
The premise of prayer is that we are spoken to by God.
He calls us into being by his Word and leads us
into personal relationship by his Word.
What is the normal response of a person spoken
to? Is it not to reply? Prayer is the reply.
from Living Well by Eugene Peterson
This is not a time in life (divorce/single parenting) to make prayer complicated. Prayer, really, is just talking to God. He will listen. He has all the time in the world for you.
I love the story of Jesus calling the children to sit on his lap. We are never too old for this story. Sit on Jesus’s lap and tell him everything. He can handle all your emotions. (Mark 10:13-16)
There is not a concern in our life that is too small to tell Jesus. One thing I missed about marriage was being able to talk through things with another adult. The end of the day was the hardest time. I kept expecting my husband to walk through the door.
To comfort that loneliness, I would turn on NPR (National Public Radio) just to have a voice. That was a temporary but useful tactic.
However, God is the permanent solution for our loneliness. He truly cares about every detail of our lives and our children’s lives.
Enter into the conversation (aka prayer).
Find a place in your home where you daily meet with God.
Over time a space used over and over for prayer becomes sacred. Just as couples often have favorite restaurants or friends have one particular booth at a restaurant where they always gather, having one place where you have met God in prayer over the years becomes a gift to your soul.
From The Life You Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg
No matter how small your home may be, have a dedicated prayer spot. My kitchen table was my original “God and my meeting place”. I kept a basket with my Bible and devotionals I could cart around so I was ready to go once I sat down.
The kitchen table was my great grand-mother’s table. It was pushed up against the wall in our small kitchen and pulled out when more than the three of us were there for dinner. That table had gone through a lot too.
When I first received it, it was painted yellow hiding the real wood underneath. One summer, I had stripped off the paint to reveal the wood grain. I stained it to show off the real wood grain.
Is that not what God was doing with me too? Taking off that facade of serving Him but not truly trusting Him. Was not God making me a more real version of me, more of a representative of who I really was made in the image of God?
Real prayer is life creating and life changing.
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.
form Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster
Find a time that works in your schedule and be consistent
My morning prayer time has become a lifeline for me, even after all these years. When I wake up late or miss my prayer time, I feel like I forgot my morning cup of coffee, but really I am just missing my Jesus, so much more important than that cup of coffee.
If morning is not your best time, find the time that works best for you. Whatever time it is, be consistent.
Keep going. Consistency is more important than length. If you pray five minutes every day, the length of time will slowly grow. You’ll look up and discover that twenty minutes have gone by. You’ll enjoy being with God. Jesus is so concerned about hanging in there with prayer that he tells “his disciples that they should always pray and not give up”. (Luke 18:1, NIV)
from A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller
Some of the text above is taken from my book Take God’s Hand: Hope and Help for Rebuilding Your Family after Divorce..
This recipe is developed by my son, Garrett. This is a weekend roast – one to make when you have a little more time. It needs to marinate overnight. Chopping the roast into cubes can be time consuming, but the family agrees the flavor is more dispersed than when I just throw a whole roast in the oven or slow cooker.
Equipped to Lead for the Single Parent
