Learning More About Prayer

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Upper Reed Lake, Hatcher Pass

Hello to everyone whose reading this! It's been awhile. I feel like I say that with every new post, but this summer I was pushing myself to get out and enjoy some new hikes and also deepen friendships and spend time with family, which meant less time inside writing. But mostly I didn't write not because I didn't have anything to say but because I don't like writing about the messy bits of my life.

Often the things I learn the most from are the ones I'm least inclined to post on here. So then I make excuses and keep moving through life with the nagging sensation I should be writing about it. Sometimes I do. And now that the air is crisp and the leaves are have turned and fallen down, I'm feeling more of an itch to write.

I've been going through the book A Journey to Victorious Praying: Finding Discipline and Delight in Your Prayer Life by Bill Thrasher. It's made me realize how often I approach my prayers with an agenda. So often I sit down and I tell God what I think He should be doing when really what I need to do is sit with him and be silent, or dwell on who He is, not what He isn't doing.

When I don't get the answer I want, it is easy to spiral into doubt, disappointment, even disillusionment. It's also easy to leave God out of decisions--big or small. I made that mistake a few years ago and it led to some very painful lessons.

O. Hallesby said "prayer is an attitude of our hearts toward God. It is an attitude of helplessness. This attitude is not meant to drive you to anxiety but rather to drive you to God."

I love that I don't have to try and act like I have everything together with God. He's the one person I can tell everything to without fear. He doesn't always answer prayers in the way I want Him to, but He answers them in the way He knows will be best for me.

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