I have a problem with praying. It’s pretty simple: I don’t pray enough. Remember, Paul’s command to “pray without ceasing”? Everyday I seem to keep failing. When good things happen to me, I just enjoy them. If I was worried, I enjoy the relief. If they were unexpected, I enjoy the surprise. And I forget each gift has a Giver. But there is one thing that always draws me to prayer. It’s a tummy ache. When I feel immediate, annoying pain, I pray. And I usually pray until the tummy ache eases or I go to bed and fall asleep. So why can I pray without ceasing when I’m in pain? Simply enough, it’s rooted in my own pride. I believe that I am strong enough, healthy enough, happy enough in my circumstances that I don’t need to go to God. But tummy aches show my weakness. And so I stumble back to God wearing my inability on my sleeve. Tummy aches remind me that He is God, and I am not. He is strong, and I am weak. He is good, and I am proud. So I guess then that I’m thankful for them, because they draw me closer to God. But there needs to be more. I can’t be content with half-hearted tummy ache prayers. That is not “praying without ceasing.” It is “praying when you darn well feel like it.” That is not how a Christian should operate.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 16:01:20 +0000