A Praying Life

This is another book review that I've been wanting to write. Many of you will probably skip right over this entry, because there are no cutesie pictures of the boys, but that's okay.=) I just wanted to share what I've been learning.

Throughout college, I would have considered myself a "decent pray-er." I kept a prayer journal daily and prayed for others pretty consistently (like there's a way to measure this!). Somewhere in between then and now, life happened. I feel like my prayer life kinda hit a wall.

I can't pinpoint how or when this occurred, but it definitely did. Recently, I'd sit on the exercise bike in the morning and try my best to produce a semi-focused prayer that lasted at least 5 minutes. Soon my mind would drift off, and I'd be overwhelmed with all I needed to get done that day. Sometimes I'd get bored praying over the same things and then feel guilty if I thought I might have forgotten something or someone. My prayer life, to say the least, was nearly non-existent.

A month or so ago, something led me to a study guide I had on my bookshelf about prayer. As I began to work through it, Jeremy brought home A Praying Life by Paul Miller. I decided to work through both, but very soon, Paul Miller's book drew me in, and the study guide was put on hold.

I learned so much from A Praying Life. It was simple yet challenging. Things in my "prayer life" are far from perfect now, but it is back in existence. Here are some of my favorite quotes...Hope you're encouraged:

"Oddly enough, many people struggle to learn how to pray because they are focusing on praying, not on God. In prayer, focusing on the conversation is like trying to drive while looking at the windshield instead of through it."

"Because it is uncomfortable to feel our unbelief, to come face-to-face with our cynicism, we dull our souls with the narcotic of activity."

"Learning to pray doesn't offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart. In the midst of outer busyness, we can develop an inner quiet. Because we are less hectic on the inside, we have a greater capacity to love."

"Don't try to get your prayers right; just tell God where you are and what's on your mind."

"The point of the gospel is that we are incapable of beginning with God and his kingdom. Many Christians pray mechanically for God and his kingdom (for missionaries, the church, and so on), but all the while their lives are wrapped up in their own kingdoms. You can't add God's kingdom as an overlay to your own."

"We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks at the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers."

"How would you love someone without prayer?"

"We don't need a praying life because that is our duty. That would wear thin quickly. We need time to be with our Father every day because every day our hearts and the hearts of those around us are overgrown with weeks. We need to reflect on our lives and engage God with the condition of our souls and the souls he has entrusted to our care or put in our paths."

And with that...I must go to bed. There are so many other amazing thoughts in this book. I'm excited and challenged about prayer and it's impact on my life and the lives of those I love!