". . ., but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. Romans 8:26

I invite you to explore and reflect on the ways that we become more aware of how we can interact with God. I will discuss ways that we can become more sensitive and aware of God's presence in our daily life.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Praying the Psalms

One of the greatest resources that we have in our life of prayer is the book of Psalms. The Psalms are the hymns and the prayers of the early community of faith. They were used in corporate worship and by individuals during personal time of prayer.

A good prayer exercise is to incorporate the Psalms into your individual prayer life. To successfully do this, you must first get to know the Psalms. Take the next 6 to 8 weeks and use one of your prayer times to read several of the Psalms. Read them out loud.

Take a few minutes to write down the ones that you like or that speak to you or for you. Write down any that you may want to remember as a resource. This could be a Psalm for giving thanks or it might be a Psalm of lament, that might help you one day.

Pay attention to the brief titles or descriptions that some of the Psalms have. Some of these mention instructions to the choir director or a melody that the Psalm was sung to. Unfortunately, none of the music has survived.

Others reveal that a Psalm was written at a particularly difficult time in someone's life. Psalm 51 was written by David after Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sins in seducing Bathsheba and killing her husband. (You might want to read 2 Samuel 11:1 to 12:14 and then re-read Psalm 51)

You may discover the riches of the Psalms and how they may enhance your life of prayer. The Psalms are one of the best resources to imspire us and help us to grow in prayer.

I welcome comments WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Read a Psalm today.

Pastor Michael

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Listening

Prayer is a conversation with God. Unfortunately, we usually do all of the talking and do not give God a chance to respond. (It cannot be a conversation unless both parties talk and listen.) God does respond and answer us, but we are usually too busy talking to pay any attention to God's response.

I suggest that you plan a time to intentionally listen to God. Write it down like your other prayer times. Begin your time by relaxing with the Jesus Prayer. (See Post for April 10.) Then sit quietly, close your eyes, and listen. Some people unclasp their hands and lay them palm up on their lap or on the table to signify their openness to God.

Breathe slowly and evenly. Remind yourself that you are open to hearing from God. Feel God's love and presence with you.

This will take some practice. Do not give up!

After a few minutes thank God for being with you. Take a moment to write down any feelings that you have. Practice this every day for at least two weeks.

You may even want to talk to God during one of your other times and ask God to help you to be a better listener. Have patience with yourself. Pay attention to the feelings that you have during your time of listening.

During the week you may want to read the story of Elijah in I Kings 19:9-13. He was waiting to hear from God and heard God in "a still small voice." You may want to meditate on a verse such as Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

Make time to listen to God today.

I welcome comments WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Pastor Michael

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

When I Cannot Pray

There are times in each person's life when it become difficult to pray. Words just do not come. It never feels like it is the right time or the right place. You may feel very awkward and think that no one is listening.

This is a natural part of prayer life. I have a few suggestions of things to do when this happens. (Notice that I did not say if it happens, but when it happens.)

Step 1 - Discernment
Are you really having a crisis of faith or are you just exhausted from a hectic schedule and lack of sleep?
Is there some strong feeling that is overcoming everything else: sadness, joy, anger, guilt, envy, greed, . . .?
Is there something that you do not want to be honest about with God?

Step 2 - Talk
Do not try to pray--just talk.
Talk to God about your inability to pray. Talk to God about what is bothering you. Do not fold your hands or close your eyes. Just have a brief conversation with God.

Step 3 - Be Gentle
This is not a time to feel guilty or to be mad at yourself. Do not focus on the frustration. Do not question your faith. If you focus on yourself and your inner turmoil, you will not leave space for God to be present.
This is easy for me to say, but I know that it will not be easy to do. Jane Redmont has written of a difficult time in her life when:
"There was a year, ...when I simply could not pray.
I remember this time as dry and somewhat sad, empty.
There was simply nothing. As I look back, I see that
this period was one of the most significant in my
prayer life, because I was truly carried by the prayer
of others, by the prayer of the community of faith to
which I belonged. ... I put myself inside the prayer
of the church. It cradled me. I moved me along.
It held me up."
When in Doubt, Sing, page 122.

Step 4 - Fidelity
Try to pray anyway. Do not worry about what to say. Try to be faithful. Use the familiar: prayers from your childhood, favorite hymns, familiar Psalms, the Lord's Prayer. Reading one of these aloud may help you.

Step 5 - Change
Try something different. Go to a different place to pray. If you always use words, then sit in silence. If you sit in silence, read from the Psalms. Sing your prayers. Change your prayer posture. You may notice an immediate change or it make take a week or more.

The above are suggestions. I do not imply that you follow all 5 steps and everything will be fixed. You may need to try all five or just one.

The difficulties with prayer, the emptiness, may be necessary as a part of your spiritual development. As a field may need to lay fallow before a new crop is planted, your prayer life may need a time of emptiness and rest.

God is always with you even if you may be unable to see or feel God's presence.

I welcome your comments Wordsandsighs.gmail.com

Talk to God anyway.

Pastor Michael

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Too Small to Pray For?

One of the biggest excuses that I hear sometimes from people is that they only pray when they are concerned about important things. "I do not want to bother God with small things." We may prefer to wait for something really important before we talk to God because we may think that if we do not ask too often, God will more likely grant our requests. God does not work that way.

We may even try to excuse this behavior as a way of not bothering God when some things are just not that significant. "God is so busy with the entire universe. My problem isn't that important."

I once had a parishioner show up at my office. She was very upset because a friend of hers told her that she was bothering God with all the little and insignificant things that she was praying about. She was concerned that she was selfish and taking up God's valuable time.

My answer to the above excuses and this kind of criticism is to ask people to read Matthew 10:20-31. Jesus is talking about how God knows if even one sparrow falls to the ground. He also mentions, "..., but even the hairs of your head are all numbered." To me, this does not sound like a God who gets bothered with prayers about small things.

Maybe if you prayed more often about even the small things, you might feel closer to God. Do not save God for a last resort when everything else fails. Pray to God about your concerns every day. If anything is a concern or important to you, it is important to God.

Maybe if you talked to God about the small things every day, it might be easier to talk to God when something serious happens.

Praying is not just a conversation with God--it is also an important part of our relationship with God. Can you have a close relationship with someone that you rarely talk to?

I welcome your comments WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Talk to God today.

Pastor Michael

Monday, April 12, 2010

Conversation

Sometimes it may be difficult to begin praying to God. You may find that the words do not come or that you are not certain what words to use. You may feel that you need to talk to God in the way that we talk to God during prayers in a worship service.

Do not worry. One of the best things that I have found is to think about prayer as having a conversation with God. You can talk to God the same way that you talk to any one of your friends. I am sure that God even understands text-speak!

Prayer does not need to be conducted in formal church language. As Paul mentions in his letter to the Romans, sometimes we may not be able to express ourselves with words. Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit will help us communicate to God with our sighs. (Romans 8:26) With that kind of help we do not need to worry about the words that we use.

I have found it helpful to make a list of people and things that I want to talk to God about. I add to it during the day and look at it before my time of prayer. I do not hesitate to look at my list while I am praying to God. This means that I do not worry about forgetting anything and I can be more relaxed during my time of prayer.

It is also helpful to remember that God is God. I sometimes have problems with names. If a name slips my mind, I do not need to worry because God knows who I want to pray about. God listens and responds to a situation even if I slip up with a name.

The important step is to have the conversation with God in the first place.

I welcome comments WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Take the time and talk to God.

Pastor Michael

Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Jesus Prayer

It is helpful to prepare for a time of prayer. After going to your chosen place and sitting or kneeling, I have found it helpful to clear my mind before I begin to pray.

I was introduced to The Jesus Prayer at a pastor's meeting about 15 years ago. It is a short phrase that you think to yourself while you slowly breathe.

Lord Jesus Christ, (While breathing in.)
Lamb of God (While breathing out.)
Have mercy on me, (While breathing in.)
A sinner. (While breathing out.)


Repeat this prayer several times as you breathe. After 5 to 7 times begin your time of prayer.

The first time I taught The Jesus Prayer was during a sermon about our prayer and devotional life. We practiced as a congregation. It seemed as if everyone was breathing in unison.

About a year-and-a-half later I over heard two women talking about when they prayed this prayer. I was thrilled that someone remembered and practiced something from a sermon that long ago.

I had mentioned that some people would spend an entire time of prayer thinking The Jesus Prayer and breathing. Both women had tried praying this prayer when they could not sleep at night. They discovered that it helped them to relax and fall asleep.

The Jesus Prayer can help you slow down and relax so that you can focus on your conversation with God. It can also be a way to reassure yourself of God's presence in your life. Like all good habits it takes practice.

I welcome your comments, WordsandSighs@gamil.com

Talk to God today.

Pastor Michael

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Increasing Time for Prayer

Once I had settled on a better place to pray, I discovered that it was difficult to increase my time of prayer. My goal was to spend 30 minutes in prayer each day.

This goal was quickly frustrated. I was trying to pray for 30 minutes once a day. I found that my mind sometimes wondered,

Who could that be on the phone?
Did I hear someone at the door?
Who was I going to see today?

I would look at my watch and realize that I could not remember what I had last prayed about. Thirty minutes of prayer time seemed to be an unreasonable goal.

I decided to pray for a shorter period of time, but at multiple times a day. I would try 5 minutes of prayer at 6 different times a day. I used a small notebook to write down the 6 times. When some of these times did not work--I tore out the page and wrote a new schedule. Eventually, I began to keep this schedule in my daily work calendar.

I also chose specific themes for each prayer time: Family, Work, Thanksgiving, Personal Concerns, Members of My Congregations, and Community Concerns. You may choose your own themes. I change mine about once a month.

This type of schedule can make each time of prayer fresh and unique. I also use my small notebook to jot down people and concerns for each theme. This also serves to remind me about my prayer concerns and helps me to focus in each area.

You will need to develop your own personal pattern. Three times a day for 10 minutes may work best for you. You may need to try several patterns to find which one suits you. My notebook is a small spiral that can fit in a shirt pocket or in the car drink holder. When a schedule does not work, you just tear it out and try another one. This helps keep your focus on the current pattern and not on the ones that did not work.

I welcome your comments. WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Talk to God today.

Pastor Michael

Finding a Place

All of us have very good intentions about growing in our daily life of prayer. It takes time and effort to develop good prayer habits. We may find that this can be a frustrating process.

Several years ago, I decided to begin each work day with prayer and to increase the time that I spent praying each day. I would go into my church office, sit at my desk, and talk to God.

Unless,... the answering machine was blinking. It might be a new prayer request. Or, ... I might stop to turn on the computer so it could be ready by the time my prayer time was over. Or,... there was a letter I was waiting for on my desk. Or,... you can figure out where this is going.

Some days it would be 10 am and I would realize that I had not yet had my first time of prayer. I would be disappointed and angry at myself for not keeping my promise to pray. This would not be a good attitude to have, so,... I would delay my prayers until I had calmed down. (Repeat,...)

I decided that I needed to change my choice of place for prayer to begin my work day. I chose to turn away from my office and enter the sanctuary. This was a better place to pray at the start of each work day. A parishioner of mine confessed that she tried to pray each day when she arrived at work. She was frustrated because someone always interrupted her. She decided to stay in her car for a time of prayer after she arrived at work, before she entered the building.

You may have to change some of the places where you pray.

I welcome your questions. WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Find a place where you can talk to God.

Pastor Michael

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Beginning.

Welcome! I am going to use this site to discuss having an active life of prayer. We know that prayer is a conversation with God, but we sometimes get tongue-tied and do not know how to start or how to continue praying and talking to God.

Praying is talking to God. But, we live in a world where we carry on too many conversations at one time. We eat and talk with friends while we talk and text on a phone or computer while watching the latest news updates. How do we fit our conversation with God into this picture?

The first step is to pay attention. Praying is not a part of multi-tasking. God will give us God's full attention--we need to do the same. Pick a time and a quiet place to talk with God. Allow 5 minutes. This could be in a room in your home, your car in the garage or parking lot, pick a place where you will not be interrupted.

Talk with God. Tell God what you are concerned about. Ask God to watch over friends and loved ones that you are concerned about. Thank God for the day, for your life, for the spring flowers.

Let this time become a new habit. I will discuss specific ways that we can do this. I will also discuss scripture that can lead us an give us direction in prayer. I will make suggestions as to how we can build up our prayer muscles.

I welcome your questions. WordsandSighs@gmail.com

Take time to talk to God.

Pastor Michael