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Chapter 1 ~ The Pocket Prayer

Written by: Bill Sparks Posted on: October 2, 2018 Blog: GrowLead

Ok, maybe you don't... But I do!

What you are about to read is pure suspicion and may not be worthy of your time, but it is real...

I don't believe Max Lucado is a prayer wimp!

There, I've said it.

In the back of my mind I wonder about what you think as well.praying-clipart.jpg

A man who has written literally hundreds of chapters about faith, following Christ and grace giving words that soothe the soul like cool water on a parched lawn.

Why would he say something like this?

Maybe because it's true?

Well, that would be a different story then...

And, it would be a reason to take heart in an often heartless world.

People who pray regularly, not only regularly but powerfully and prayers filled with faith, are less than grace giving. They would say things like... "if you're not praying about it, you're doing it on your own."

Is that true? Do you need to "pray" about it to be doing something in faith? I don't know.

Or, as I experienced yesterday, a young man who has multiple health issues was pretty forceful about his "rub the bottle and get the genie" approach to prayer. He kept saying, "but I have the Great Physician on my side, he's gonna heal me of my health issues." Is that true? I don't know. But I do struggle with people who "have it all together". A weakness of mine.

A struggle I don't have? The belief that prayer, no matter how mysterious and mystical as it can be at times, is the only true avenue I have to connect with my Savior.

lord_teach_us_to_pray.jpgI love this book, not because I agree with all of Max's thoughts on prayer like I buy into Andy's teaching on grace, but for the way in which Max distills prayer down to an easy to adopt approach that is not a dead end.

So, at the risk of repeating the prayer you'll be reviewing each week, here is that simple petition...

Father,

.....You are good.

..........I need help.

...............Heal me and forgive me.

....................They need help.

..........................Thank you.

.................................In Jesus name, amen.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, feel free to comment either way.


Comments:

Jeff said:

on October 3, 2018 at 3:13pm

I did enjoy the simplification of the Lords prayer! I can identify with Max when he says he is a prayer wimp! As I look at Scripture and see many petitions and prayers it seems overwhelming to be able to live in that arena! I understand that all that is required of me is to simply pray with a heart that is humble and contrite, yet when I fail I do not feel worthy to even approach the Throne and utter even a simple prayer for forgiveness. I must admit that I have been involved in some amazing prayer times when the Lord has been tangible and his presence ever so real but then I have had times when I have been so frustrated that I have avoided even the thought of praying. You would think that at age 52 I would be more steady and even gaining a consistency that would enable me to be a mighty prayer warrior. I am ashamed to say I still do struggle from time to time but I still have a desire to obtain a level of consistency that will allow me to be the man of prayer I know that I am called to be. I like the thought that when we pray it demonstrates we have Faith because we believe we will receive what we ask for from the Father, if we didn't then what would we ask/pray.

Debra Jones-Price said:

on October 3, 2018 at 3:58pm

I struggle with prayer. Mainly I struggle with making time for it. But I liked how "talking" to God is considered prayer time here. I do that quite a bit. But I also believe that we sometimes don't give prayer the reverence we should. That's what I struggle with. I lay in bed at night and pray, but should I be on my knees? Should I be wearing something on my head? I mean I really worry about these things. I look forward to what this book will bring.

Sheila said:

on October 4, 2018 at 9:27am

I always wonder if I'm doing it wrong. After I thank God for his goodness and grace, I tend to pray for the needs of others before myself because it seems selfish to pray for myself if I trust God to provide all that I need. But then I remember how disappointed God must be watching me fail miserably on a daily basis when He continues to offer me grace every single day and maybe I NEED to pray for myself a lot more! After reading the first few chapters of this book I think I need to take more time to just "be" and listen to God...He already knows my heart better than I do and I want to let Him guide me. Because of this book I've realized that it's important to share our personal stories with others because they want to pray for us. I tend to "put on a happy face" when I'm actually overwhelmed. Recently I have been more open in sharing my personal struggles and have seen amazing answers to my prayers as a result of simply allowing someone else to pray for me and with me.

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