Praying, or Gone Fishing?

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--image from jacksonfish.com



Am I praying from a knowledge of God's presence and care, or am I just fishing for my hopes and dreams on the lake of life? Am I intentional, or am I hoping to get lucky?

Am I still struggling with asking for my will or for God's will? Do I have the suspicion that God's will is something painful, unpleasant, or endlessly difficult? Do I really believe God's will offers joy, a fulfillment of my talents, energy to love others and express myself freely in the world? Do I believe God is personally and directly concerned about me and acting on my behalf?

Honest openness in prayer forces me to repeat these questions until I can acknowledge a truthful answer. As long as I believe God's will is something that brings mostly pain and drudgery, I will never seek it with all of my heart. I will always make an excuse for settling for something else. I will always think less of God and more of myself. When I don't get what I want, I will tend to say prayer doesn't work--or God isn't good.

Am I praying, or have I just gone fishing?

Comments

LISA VAZQUEZ said…
Hello there Deborah,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful contributions to my think tank! I am happy to see more women of faith jumping into these "volatile" and difficult exchanges. I do believe that the sharing of viewpoints is vitally important.

As for your post...

You said:
"Honest openness in prayer forces me to repeat these questions until I can acknowledge a truthful answer."So many people have a difficult time coming to the Lord in their prayer time with all of their masks off.


Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 2:55:00 PM EDT
Deborah Evans said…
You are welcome! Your think tank is a real gift and I enjoy reading, thinking about, and participating in the ideas and discussions.
Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 3:14:00 PM EDT
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