God and I have a somewhat challenging relationship upon occasion. Challenging from my end at least, and I'm pretty sure I've made Her at least give a small sigh of frustration. Or maybe not. It's hard to tell. I'm not the greatest at keeping in touch, and this (unfortunately) extends to God as well. I've always been crap at regular prayer and, subsequently, am not particularly good at it. I catch myself wondering how stupid I sound, or what I'm going to make for dinner, or whether I have time to do some gaming before bed. Not particularly helpful for one's spiritual health.
It's become worse recently. Partly because I haven't been to church regularly for a while, partly (I think) due to stress and partly because I feel like I have so much to DO. I always start the day with the best of intentions. I'll be productive and get stuff done and of course I'll remember to pray. Of course! Then the day actually happens. Some stuff gets done, never as much as I intend, and invariably prayer falls by the wayside. I'm not entirely sure how to address this. One way would be to learn how to pray in a way that suits me, but again this requires time and actually remembering to do it. The more I forget or put it off, the harder it becomes. In fact, I should probably be giving it a go right now instead of blogging about it. Kind of special, huh?
In fact, what I WILL do now (or at least until I start work, which should have been 30 minutes ago but everyone's out...) is make a list of what needs to be accomplished. Prayer will be at the top. I feel better with a list to guide me and it actually helps a lot in focusing my day. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to write my list. Oh, and if you have any suggestions for effective prayer, let me know! All help is greatly appreciated...
I can't talk with any authority on this because I'm not Christian, but I was once told that the really important acts of worship were not ones that were dedicated 'acts of worhship' like prayer or attending church, but those that you effect through thought and deed and that genuinely make a positive difference to other peoples lives, because all people were created by god and you cannot love him without loving them.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty close to what I believe, but for me, acts of worship do help to strengthen my side of things. Less attending church admittedly, but not praying is like not phoning your Mum regularly. The relationship is still there and you know she still loves you, but a regular phone call helps to maintain the relationship :)
ReplyDeleteI could not remember who said that to me, perhaps it was you in the first place :) In any case, I should phone my Mum
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