The past couple of months have been a good break for me. We didn’t have any students for June & July. I got a lot of reading done and spent a lot of time with my family. I prayed. And the one thing that was consistently impressed upon my heart was the need for MORE prayer.
We have heard recently of illnesses and job losses. There have been babies born, and weddings to celebrate. So many times, with tidbits of news, the Holy Spirit has “spoken” one word to me – Pray. I honestly don’t do it enough, and I don’t always feel like I pray effectively. But I do know that prayer works. I have seen it work in my life.
I am still learning how prayer works. Sometimes in a hard situation I expect to pray and get up from prayer with everything resolved. For example, I am aching for a friend whose actions seem to be leading her away from God, and I don’t know what to think, or what, if anything, I should say. I am realizing it’s enough for me to pray that God would start working in my heart to give me the right feelings and right actions. Then, I need to have faith that God will bring it to completion.
It’s not always easy to be consistent in prayer. But one thing I have learned is that I need to give God my GOOD times for prayer, when I am alert and when I have something on my heart. I can say a concise prayer of thanks at bedtime, but it’s not the best time to attempt intercessory prayer!
I am growing in the practice of prayer. A dear friend of mine often started her prayers this way, “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you are not weary of our new beginnings, but that you bid us to come, and to come often.” Our God is infinitely merciful and He understands our feeble attempts to pray, and we are always welcome to sit at His feet.