Prayer

God is truly amazing! Despite my shortcomings and flat out failures, He remains faithful. I'm so glad my God is that way!Typically, whatever God leads me to teach in Sunday School is something He's dealing with ME on.

We are starting our discussion on prayer.

I've always known prayer is important. I've seen the power of prayer in my own life, over and over. I've been taught that prayer is the key to living out our Christian walk with God.

So...

What IS prayer?...you may ask. HOW do you pray? And, why pray if God already knows what we need?

Prayer is our conversation with God. Some people have confusing ideas about prayer. Prayer is simple...It's when you talk to God. Just as we talk to our family & friends, we should be talking to God. Prayer is not a holier-than-thou act, and you don't just talk to God while burning incense, on your knees, in a church. To pray is to talk...to the One who created you. Sometimes that talk is by way of begging God to change a situation. Sometimes it's in utter gratitude for the way He answered a request. Yet, other times we're plain 'ole MAD when we talk to God. Then, at times, our prayers consist of worshipping Him for the many blessings He's given to us.

And there are times, we approach Him with a broken heart, in overwhelming grief.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying...there are many times that we come to God with reverence, mindful that He is Lord...period. But there are plenty of times, we run to Him as our Daddy, or our Friend.

Yesterday, I approached Him with a heavy heart. My friend and MOPS Leadership Team Sister, Lori, was taken to the hospital by ambulance yesterday morning. With bleeding on the brain. Lori just gave birth to baby Andrew, 6 days ago. She is a tiny lady, who is down-to-earth, and plays a major role in keeping our MOPS team grounded. There are no pretenses with her. What you see is what you get. And that's one of the things that I appreciate about her the most. She has great ideas and isn't afraid to share them, and she works well with our close-knit MOPS team. Lori was just here at my home, 12 days ago, at our annual MOPS retreat.

Talk about prayer...!

So many have been lifted to our Heavenly Father on her behalf.

I couldn't help but think yesterday, that God makes sure to get His point across when He leads us to a new perspective. Not that anything about Lori's situation has anything to do with me. It's not about me. But it IS about God answering our prayers to know Him better, and serve Him better. It IS about knowing Him. It's about prayer.

Currently, Lori is sedated. She's in CCU. The doctors want to give her brain time to absorb the excess blood. They've ruled out the "really bad stuff", such as an aneurysm and a blood clot.

Praise God!!!!!

Without a doubt, we all have a slightly different perspective on prayer, which changed within a 24 hour period.

So what IS prayer? A conversation with the only One who has all the answers. How do you pray? You bow your head, close your eyes, fold your hands...or, you talk to God while you're folding laundry or driving down the road. And you talk. Share your feelings...your hopes & dreams. Your heartbreak.

Why pray if God already knows our needs? Because OUR perspectives are the ones that need to change.

We need to recognize our need for God.

Do you have a few minutes? Grab some coffee and let's talk...