Prayer – I suck at it.
I just finished Philip Yancey’s Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?
Anyway, back to the book. The short answer is, yes.
You’ll have to read the book to get the long answer.
So, as with any book that I typically read I am forced to think about some things, confess some things, and even repent of some things. In the end, a book worth reading is one that will point out how much I suck, and then point me very gently back to Jesus.
This book, while not Yancey’s best, is definitely worth reading. The Jesus I Never Knew
I was confronted by the fact that God, my heavenly Daddy, typically views my prayers like my trips to the grocery store with my Ugandan kids. Every five seconds they point and yell, “Daddy, I want!” I was confronted with the fact, that if that was the extent of the conversation I had with my kids, then my relationship with them would be void of any depth or meaning. The repentance involved with this revelation is going to involve me praying differently. I am not supposed to quit telling Daddy what I want, but those requests should be embedded in a sea of other conversation.
How I am going to create that sea is still up for grabs, but I think it will have something to do with intentionally indicating that I want God to listen in and give me feedback on every thought. I want to invite Him to have input on those little conversations I have inside my head.
How about you?
How would God describe your conversations with Him?
How would you describe a relationship you had with someone if the only conversation you had was one way and included a laundry list? As a pastor this is often why we struggle to build relationships with others because we are often only sought out because people want something.
If you want to borrow the book just let me know, or if you have a Nook I can lend it to you.
An Epic Adoption Story
Over the next few weeks there will be some immediate updates from the Land of Ham otherwise known as Africa and more specifically Uganda. In the midst of them I’ll also be releasing bits and pieces of how an idea became a dream that became an epic adoption story. There should also be my “Tuesdays are for Smiling” posts interrupting, but I can’t forsake them.
I’ll schedule the first one for our day of departure, Saturday, January 29, 2011.
Just look for “An Epic Adoption Story” in the title.
Hopefully, you’ll be brought to tears and laughter as you see the carefully woven garment of God’s purpose come together one moment at a time.
Go to Chapter 1 The Youth Rally
Changing Church Paradigms
After watching AND LISTENING to this wonderful talk I would love to hear what you think.
Or just click on the link here.
What do we do in the Church that is really born out of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment and not the scriptures?
The crux of what Sir Ken Robinson is saying should make us think differently about missions, ministry, and even worship.