Speaking to God

Who speaks in prayer?  Who is the one pouring her heart out?  I’m hoping it’s you.  I’m praying that we get a sense of who we are and where we are when we pray.  

What is happening in my life?  Does my prayer sound like this:  Bless Mommy and Daddy and brother and sister and make me happy.  Sometimes I run down my prayer list so rapidly that even I’m not listening.  It has often become the grocery list.  I hand it to God and get on with my other daily errands.  He’ll deliver the goods later. 

And while confidence in prayer is good, negligence is not.  There is Someone listening.  Someone waiting to hear and to respond.  Why do I so often think that what I have to do is more important than what He has to do?  That my to-do list is more important than His?  In fact, His is the only one that matters. 

So stop a while, or as the Beverly Hillbillies used to say, “Set a spell” in God’s presence.  Get to know Him.  Listen to His Word.  Offer your prayers to the One who can truly answer.  Speak His name in a way that makes you more confident of His response.  Oh God who heals, help my father recover from the stroke he suffered.  Oh Father of all, who is over all and in all, care for the victims of the floods in the Midwest.  Minister to their hearts in a way that only You can. 

I rarely take time for this kind of thoughtful prayer – shame on me.  It is really the most important task on my to-do list for each day.   

Take time this day to read Psalm 62 and savor His presence:  For God alone my soul waits in silence. (when was the last time you waited in silence for God?)  From him comes my salvation.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.  Isn't that a nice thought, to not be moved? 

Savor it, and savor Him.