Developing a Deeper Prayer Life

Humble me, Father

2005-07-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Lord our God in Heaven,
Please forgive me for my selfishness. I am so disappointed that I am not the original creator and inventor for an education journal that is not based around one organization. When I discovered Education Week and Teacher Magazine I became sad and disengaged and disheartened. I am glad there is such a resource out there for educators, I am still saddened that I did not come up with it and now my dream is over. Please forgive me for feeling this way. I should be glad and thankful someone thought of it first and that it is out there helping others. Please humble me, Lord. I keep thinking maybe someone can come up with an idea to salvage Educate & Inspire, but that is selfish, too. Please wash me clean of this sin of greed and pride. It was not the purpose of the journal in the first place. I wanted to help children and educators. I did not know it was important for me to get recognized for it or to do it myself. I am ashamed of this and I bow before you in shame and ask you to humble me. Help me to forget this venture and put my faith and energy in other ventures that you have set out for me. Obviously, this is not what you intended for me to do. Please help me find and focus on that purpose and grant me peace of mind. Have mercy on me, Father.

In your name I pray,
AMEN.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

2005-07-01T00:12:00.000-05:00

Dear God,

Thank you for the help you have given me through the Beliefnet site. Surrounding myself with individuals who are passionate about religion, especially Christianity, fills me with joy and pride and satisfaction. Is it okay for me to explore other religions and faiths and to discuss them with others? Is the discussion of these faiths like a reverse witnessing? Because I don't want to do that. I never want to lead people away from God, only towards, while respecting their positions. Please show me if this Yahoo! Group is appropriate for a Christian to be doing.

God, thank you for Kali. She is so loving and sweet and affectionate right now. I can tell that she senses that I am leaving. She has been following me around the house and wants to sit in my lap more than she ever has before. I hate to leave her, Lord, I really do. I just don't think she will be happy without Jinx. Besides, Frances does not like cats apparently. I hope she will not cry every night and will not be mad at me. I hope when I come back and see her she will love me and not be mad at me like she has done to me so many times in the past. I hate to see her upset with me. I'd take her if I thought it would be alright but I think staying here is best for her. She will be happy with Jinx and the familiarity of the house she has lived in for 8 years. I will miss her terribly. Help us both to find comfort in each other and help me to find comfort in you, Almighty Father. I pray nothing happens to her and that we will be friends still for many, many years to come. I don't know what I would do if I lost her right now.

Thank you for the love you give to me. Your love is like the greatest gift I could ever receive. You are beautiful and worthy of all the praise and adoration I can give to you. I pray that I will continue to become more and more like you, Father. That is my ultimate goal. I want you to be proud of me, proud to have me in Heaven. I want to feel so close to you. I want to feel your breath on my skin and feel the beating of your heart. I want to be surrounded by angels who praise you for all eternity. I want to belong to you and only you, Lord. Guide me so that I might make the right choices and decisions that lead me to be closer to you and that lead me to be more and more like you, O God. I love you so much. You are my largest hero. I will love you and praise your name forever and ever.

Thank you for loving me so much. I could never begin to repay you for all this love.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
AMEN.

Quickie #1

2005-06-28T17:40:00.000-05:00

Dear God,
Please help me to find strength and stamina in the midst of the chaos that is my life. Nothing bad has happened but my mind sometimes runs faster than I do. Help me to make sense of all of my undertakings and help me to find you in the midst of each one.
Thank you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit-
AMEN.

Journeys

2005-06-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Confucious

Wise words from a wise man. I often recite this quote when I feel like the pathway to something better or even extraordinary is too long that I cannot seem to get started. Developing a deeper prayer life will not happen overnight and I must face this issue and start my journey towards it anyways. If I take one step today, and one step tomorrow, and another step on Sunday, then I will be three steps closer to reaching my goal. It may seem like insignificant progress at the time, but once you add all the steps together, you're really moving somewhere- sometimes without even knowing it.

I want to take time now to say a quick prayer to God to bless my journey to developing a deeper prayer life:

Dear God,

I long to know you, Lord. I long to know you better than I know myself. I long to worship you and praise you and give you thanks in all the ways I can. I want to ask for guidance, ask for health, ask for protection, ask for many blessings, that only you can give. I struggle with prayer and find myself doubting if my prayers are good enough for you, Lord. Especially when the prayers are being spoken by another person. I cannot seem to always grasp the significance of their words or hear your voice for all the clutter in my head. I ask you today Lord to bless my journey to developing a deeper prayer life with you. And please bless all of those who may or may not decide to take this journey as well. I know you will be with me and us all.

In your name,
Amen.

Deep Sense of Renewal

2005-06-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

I am feeling a deep sense of renewal recently. I feel I am drawing ever closer to God and I am finding new ways to renew my vigor, test my strength, and draw upon his understanding to guide my path. I have been visiting a site called Beliefnet, you might have been there before. I am also meeting interesting people from religious communities on MySpace who are helping me develop a deeper spiritual life and a greater relationship with God. I also created a group of my own on MySpace called I Live for Jesus to explore some of these issues with other people in the community.

I am also going to be starting RCIA classes at a Catholic Church on Sunday, Sept. 11th. RCIA stands for Rite of Catholic Initiation of Adults and is a 24-28 week long "class" which helps non-Catholics learn about the Catholic faith and to decide whether they would like to participate in a sacrament to become a Catholic. You may be baptized or non-baptized, an older Catholic who has not received the Eucharist (Lord's Supper) or Confirmation to become a Catholic on your own will. I will have a blog about my experiences in RCIA when I begin the sessions in September.

I have never been exceptionally good at praying. I do it all the time in short -bursts- before eating, while driving, when I'm afraid, when I want to thank him. But I have never been gifted at praying for everything, or talking to God in a way that is completely gratifying and fulfilling to me. This blog I hope will help me to confront any issues I have with praying, discover new ways to pray, delve into meditation hopefully, and finally reach my goal of a deeper prayer life. Of course, this is not a means to an end. In order to have a deep and fulfilling prayer life, one must constantly be renewing it, but this will help me get there and make maintaining it easier.

If you would like to take the journey with me, please feel free. God loves you and longs for you to develop a deeper and more meaningful relationship with him.

God Bless!