Ask and you shall receive...

It's my great pleasure to announce I have had no furry little surprises for a few months.  Though I am delighted I have not seen more mice,  I am a wee bit concerned.  Honestly, how something so small can cause me to feel so upset and lose my focus?  How often do I allow little surprises to shake my faith walk? Shouldn't my faith permeate every aspect of my life?

Sometimes I like to think I am a woman of great mountain-moving faith.  Then I have moments where I see myself as I truly am, very human and desperately in need of more Jesus and more grace.  I feel like the disciples in Luke 17:5 asking Jesus "Lord increase my faith."  I don't just want great faith for the "big" stuff.  I need great faith for the small things because I deal with so much "little"stuff.  

A little mouse reminds me nothing is too big or too small for God.   Thankfully,  a  few traps and much prayer seemed to get rid of the intruders. 

Ask and you shall receive...Matthew 7:7

Prayer in Practice

If you're like most Christians, it's easy for you to answer the question "Why Pray?"  We know that the Bible tells us to pray.  In fact, it goes as far as to say "pray continuously."   Searching scripture, we discover prayer is all about connecting and communicating with God.   But it's a little tougher to answer the "How to Pray." Jesus gives us a great model to follow in the Matthew 6:9-13

 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

Jesus also tells us don't make prayer into a big show to impress others.  But what does this look like? How does this thing called prayer work out in actual practice? Kneel? Sit? Stand?  Eyes closed? Eyes opened?  Do I have to have a literal closet to pray in?  How does this look?

Our physical  posture of prayer doesn't  supersede the heart's posture and the purpose of prayer.  So sit, stand, walk, talk, be silent, open your eyes, close your eyes but whatever you do, just pray. Connect with God because he longs to connect with you.  

In the interest of satisfying the curious and at the risk of inviting you into my very messy, very real world, I wanted to share two really practical things I have found helpful in becoming a praying person. 

First of all, I need a relatively peaceful and quiet place.  Paul could pray and praise in a prison, but I need a little order.  If there is clutter, chaos or dirt I will spend more time thinking about housework than God's work.  This need for a serene space eliminates the use of a "prayer closet" in my home.  Perhaps your closet is neater and larger than the tiny one I share with my husband in which case you should be very thankful.  

 My quiet place, my closet if you will, is my living room.  It's the one room I manage to keep organized on a regular basis.  Kitchen prayer lends itself to munching more than I ought.  Bedroom prayer risks me falling asleep or waking my husband. The dining room, as you can see, is where the action happens and the messes never end so it's a no-go prayer zone for me.

The dining room table-not just a place to eat.

Pencil shavings and dog hair on the floor are not conducive to my prayer life.  

Secondly, I keep a "prayer basket" near the couch in the living room where I like to pray.  I wish I could take credit for this great idea, but a sweet friend suggested this when I was lamenting about my inconsistent prayer life.  

My little basket is full of things that help me focus when  I want to pray.  I like to pray in the quiet moments of the early morning and in any other moments I can capture during the day.  When I plop down on the couch to rest,  I will often grab my little basket and "rest In Him."

The  basket a cute little thing that tucks away nicely under the end table.  It is oh-so-easy to pull out and is a great visual reminder to spend more time with Jesus.   I would encourage you to find a visual reminder that works for you.  Maybe your  reminder is  an app on your  iPhone, a habitual morning walk with the dog or  a note on your nightstand.  Whatever it is, it should encourage you to pray. 

So, back to the basket.   If you're like me, you're probably wondering what's in the basket.  I have a Bible,  a journal,  card holders for prayer requests and answers and inspiring  books about prayer.

Operation World is one of my favorite books that informs me about prayer needs around the world.  I highly recommend it. 

As I take this prayer journey, I pray you are inspired to take your own journey.  
Pray hard.  Pray often. 
Who knows?  1,000 hours of prayer just might change everything.  

Ninety and Counting...

    I am reading Mark Batterson's book the Circle Maker.  He alludes to the fact that practice, the sheer act of repetition, creates mastery.  To be a world class athlete or musician there seems to be one common denominator:  10, 000 hours of practice.  The pure investment of time is what separates the everyday from the elite. 
   Over the last several months, I've spent hours and hours in prayer.   The biggest change I have noticed has been my reaction to life.  When a problem arises, my first instinct is to pray.  Isn't that what it should have been all along?
   For example, this afternoon my husband gave me some alarming news.  Something we had prayed for and agreed on was about to be changed and there was seemingly nothing we could do about it.  His visceral reaction caused the muscles in his jaw to tighten and created a tension in his voice.  I could tell his blood pressure was rising by the flush in his cheeks. 
    After listening, I calmly assured him that no decision man makes is final.  We quietly prayed at the table and he left.  As the car eased away from the drive, I sent the children to their bedrooms and shut the door.  I found my kneeling spot by the couch and burst into tears and moans, crying to the Lord.  I reminded him of the early mornings I spent praying for my husband.  I pleaded with him for favor in an unfavorable circumstance.  Like Elijah, I prayed with fervor and urgency.
  "Mom, is everything ok?"  a tiny voice stammered.  My hair and makeup were surely a mess by this time.  I wiped the tears from my face and explained that I was crying out to God for mercy.  I was very upset and the only one who could help me was God.  Now my children knew what was going on.  They knew my prayer.  Surely God would respond if only for the sake of their young, tender faith.
    Concerned children quietly slipped away and I continued to pray until there were no more words, no more cries and the ache in the pit of my stomach had left.  I sent my husband and message.
  "Any word?"  I typed.   He proceeded to tell me the tides had changed and God had granted him favor.  My prayer had been answered.  I smiled.  I rejoiced.  I told the children how God heard our cry and soaked in the sweetness of the smiles that plastered their faces. 
  God always answers.  God always hears.  Sometimes, like today,  it's exactly how I hoped he would answer.  Then there are times when I am a child and do not understand the ways of my wise Father.  I stammer and question. I feel confused and discouraged.  But even then I know that He is a good Father.  His ways are not my ways.  His thoughts are not my thoughts. His gifts are good and perhaps the best gift of all is the journey we enjoy as we seek Him.  Who knows what 1,000 hours of prayer might bring.  Who can imagine what 10,000 hours of prayer would do.  Perhaps after 10,000 hours of prayer one might really understand what Paul commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ...pray without ceasing.  Can prayer become a state of mind?  Can prayer become as natural as breathing?  I hope so.

Easier than I Imagined

With the exception of the mouse issue, I am finding this journey easier than I expected.  It turns out than instead of counting the minutes pass by on the clock, I am actually wishing I had more time to pray.  Also, I have finally found a quiet space to actually listen to God.  Prayer was never meant to be a one-way conversation and I am realizing that more and more with every hour.  As I am quiet in moments of prayer,  God quietly speaks to me about my life

My mind tends to race with things to do.  How about yours?   Yet as I surrender my time, my thoughts and my needs to him in prayer, He slows my thoughts, calms  my concerns and comforts in a way that brings clarity and vision.


I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.  John 14:27 (NLV)

A Little Surprise

My first morning, up before the crack of dawn to pray was a surprise.  I thought my attention span would be challenged.  How would I fill all that time? What would I do if I ran out of things to say?  Was this such a good idea after all?

I took a moment to prepare my heart and earnestly, wholeheartedly asked the Lord to keep my mind free from distractions as I opened my Bible for direction.  As I glanced out of the corner of my eye, I was startled to see a furry, little critter scurrying across my floor.  A mouse in the house!?  This was not off to such a good start. After a small  outburst, I quickly left the house in an attempt to evade the rodent.

I knew I could not stay in the house and talk to God without being distracted. Today would be a prayer-walk kind of day.

"Lord, get that mouse out of my house!"
Not a very holy prayer.
But VERY heartfelt.

The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James 5:16

1000 Hours is a Long Time!

After participating in a church wide initiative to log a thousand hours of prayer, I felt God whisper to my  heart, "What would change if YOU prayed for 1,000 hours?"

Intrigued?  Yes. I truly believe that the invisible things are often more real than the visible, so I imagined.  Could courses be set?  Could lives be forever changed?  Could dreams be realized? Could unhealthy, destructive patterns be disassembled?
Yes. Yes. Yes and Yes.

I hesitated though.  One thousand hours is a long time.  I am a busy mother of three.  Impossible.  Two months later, I remembered the conversation and realized that I am too busy to not take my prayer life to a new level.

So, how about you?  What might happen in your life if you prayed for 1,000 hours?