Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Unfamiliar Territory

It's strange for me to realize that prayer feels foreign to me now. Has it really been that long? How quickly I drifted out of the habit. Was it a habit, or was it relational, or was it just need-driven? I think it was any one of the three, depending on the circumstances. A lot of my prayer these days is very primitive: "God help me." This falls under Hallesby's definition of prayer: the intersection of our weakness and our faith.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is human to turn to God and prayer in our times of greatest need and then let it slip when things are going relatively well. I remember having a superstitious fear that if I forgot to pray one night (!) my daughter would die. Now, like you, I sometimes go days, even weeks, without prayer. I have truly found my Celebration of Prayer to be helpful here (http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/ccp/09wed.html). In fact, when I finish this, I am going to open it up to Compline. When I get to the part of the office for personal prayer my prayer is in 4 parts: 1. offering thanks for my many blessings and in particular the blessings I have been particularly aware of that day (today it will be for the beauty of creation and the love and support of a particular member of my family)2. asking forgiveness for the things I have done wrong during the day (often, like today, it is for overconsuming) 3. asking for God's help for myself or others 4. asking for the wisdom and strength to accept things that can't be changed.

Gary Means said...

Thanks Mariam, I will check out the link you provided.

afaithreconsidered said...

Mariam, I took a look at the link. I also like Sacred Space and Pray As You Go, both of which are linked this blog.