Prayer: God wants to listen and engage with us

I’m Tired of bowing my head, closing my eyes... and having my mind wander... of “Lord, we just pray” and “Lord Jesus” and “in Jesus’ name” and a host of other “false prayer phrases” that we never use in real life but somehow always show up when we pray... of praying the same prayer before every meal and not being able to remember any of it... until the next meal... of “You need to pray for him” as code for Christian gossip... of prayer being an after-thought when conversing with the Maker-and-Sustainer of the Universe should be awe-inspiring

Five Things I’m Doing to Become Better I downloaded and use the PrayerMate app on my tablet I spend 30 minutes a week on the phone with a consistent prayer partner, focusing on each other’s needs, not the needs around us I’ve memorized the Lord’s Prayer and now find myself praying it regularly

My take on The Lord’s Prayer Our Father who is in Heaven, help me to honor you for who you are I don’t know how to pray for this specific situation, so I simply want you to have the right things happen that brings this situation and all of the world closer to how you intended it to be I want to remember to trust you for my family’s needs Please keep forgiving-and-forgetting how messed up, selfish and rebellious I am, and help me to be graciously aware that I’m as messed up as the person next to me I’m not even strong enough to know when to say “no” so would you keep me away from things that tend to start my sin cycles

Five Things I’m Doing to Become Better I downloaded and use the PrayerMate app on my tablet I spend 30 minutes a week on the phone with a consistent prayer partner, focusing on each other’s needs, not the needs around us I’ve memorized the Lord’s Prayer and now find myself praying it regularly I try to pray through one of the six sections of TJ’s Conversation with God each day When people ask for prayer, I stop right then and pray with them/for them. I’ve stopped promising “I’ll pray for you.” We both know this is just a trite Christian-ism.

Prayer: God wants to listen and engage with us