A little peace and quiet. That's what we all need at some point in the day. A little time to ourselves, to switch off from all the hassle of day-to-day life. Hopefully we can all find that vital time, when we can relax and talk to our Lord.
You'll notice that I didn't say pray. I'm not too good at praying regularly. Some years ago I remember being given a suggested format for praying to God. It went roughly like this :- First remember to say "thank you" for the good things that have happened. Then say "sorry" for the things you've done wrong (real or imagined), and ask for forgiveness. Then finally make any requests for guidance or other particular needs.
I found that quite helpful for a while, but soon found that it was becoming something of a routine. A habit that I'd grown into and now had lost the freshness that it deserved. For a while I broke the routine, trying to find different times, perhaps different places, change the order. Anything to bring back the impetus and the feeling of confidentiality with the Lord, which had faded with the passing of time. Nothing really worked. My praying was stagnating, probably really down to me.
Then I wondered if others were having the same problem. How many people in church really thought about, and meant, the words spoken every week when we all say the Lord's Prayer together? It could become just another habit. This is no good. So I simply threw all the rules that I thought were there out the window, sat down quietly, and said "Lord, can we talk please? I'm not doing too well here," and the words flowed and somehow things fell into place and he puts me right. In fact, sometimes I'm only thinking about what I want to say, and the answer is already coming back. Wow!
Make your prayers a confidential chat with our Lord. Say what you feel, he always responds.
Jim Finch
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