tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655521.post6905886963193916193..comments2024-02-23T17:09:12.957-05:00Comments on bethquick.com: PrayerBeth Quickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14171030571583683180noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655521.post-29634742632763481022007-03-25T03:10:00.000-05:002007-03-25T03:10:00.000-05:00A couple pf helpful things:1) Prayer is asking fo...A couple pf helpful things:<BR/><BR/>1) Prayer is asking for things, and it's our reluctance to ask which leads us to all sorts of other nonsense to cloud the issue. Asking (James 4) is our highest possible praise of God, the one in whom we live and move and are. We've really got to get looking good to God off our agenda as we come into his presence and remember that making us look good is his job, not ours.<BR/><BR/>2) As Paul teaches in Philippians 4, our anxieties are given to direct our prayers. If we pray about whatever is making us anxious, we solve two problems: our anxieties, and our fasilure to pray.Peter Attwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01584071300152377363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655521.post-5428992532411992442007-03-02T04:06:00.000-05:002007-03-02T04:06:00.000-05:00When I was a freshman in college an eon or two ago...When I was a freshman in college an eon or two ago I was "Super Prayer Girl" -- belonged to a couple of bible studies on campus (one of which was via e-mail which at the time was quite revolutionary), had one devotional book I did every morning and another every night. Of course, then life started getting in the way ... which, of course, is the time when a steady prayer routine would come in the handiest I suppose but wasn't thinking in those terms then. Off and on since then I've tried getting back to a routine but it wasn't really until my boy was born that anything stuck. I blame (and thank) Rodney Atkins for getting back into it because his song "Watching You" really hit home big time for me and I realized that if John doesn't see/hear either of his parents pray ever then there's a real good chance he won't have it part of his personal life in the future. And I know that there's a lot more I could probably do towards his spiritual development, but for now we're sticking with his little books of bible stories and his Veggie Tales and his momma saying a prayer with/for him every night when I put him to bed.karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03140525208481352659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655521.post-80335150338840639942007-03-01T18:10:00.000-05:002007-03-01T18:10:00.000-05:00Gosh I can relate to your childhood prayer story. ...Gosh I can relate to your childhood prayer story. When I was in middle school, I kept a prayer journal that fluctuated between nauseating detail and curt basics. I had a second book where I listed (in alphabetical order, with extra pages to add more names, like an address book) people to pray for. It turned into a running list of every one I knew (or knew of), and got way, way out of hand. It's taken me over a decade to recover a sense of joy in any kind of disciplined prayer pattern. I force myself not to feel like less of a Christian than my Episcopal hubby who does the daily office. <BR/><BR/>One tool I've found really helpful in recultivating a healthy prayer life is the Ignatian concept of attentiveness--that paying attention to our lives and the lives of those around us is the first step in prayer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655521.post-29482733555008573652007-03-01T17:09:00.000-05:002007-03-01T17:09:00.000-05:00My daily devotions are centered around a pattern o...My daily devotions are centered around a pattern of:<BR/>1. getting my Bible and Bible dictionary and praying the Venerable Bede's prayer for insight in Biblical study.<BR/>2. Reading a chapter out of the Bible in sequential order (today: John 17) out loud.<BR/>3. Reading some relevant article in the Bible dictionary.<BR/>4. General prayer of repentance, grace, and application to that day's Biblical text.<BR/><BR/>I also pray regularly at Asbury's dandy Prayer Room. It is a lovely and holy place.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04854543617806427302noreply@blogger.com