There is need of only one thing, Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:42.
I’ve been feeling in need of a change in my life lately, a break from the endless doctor visits with no solutions, a break from feeling like all I can do is sit down so I feel less miserable, a break from people asking “are you sure it isn’t all stress dear?”, a break from writing (though I love to write and would LOVE a weekend away where I could just write and read and write some more) and a break from thinking about what I need to get rid of before we move, a break from .. well.. everything really. I’m feeling my patience slipping away from me.
I don’t like that.
So I came to my study today in “Having a Mary heart in a Martha world” with a heart that feels heavy. I want something different to happen. I need a change and I’m just feeling battered.
This chapter called me back, back to the heart of God. Reminding me that God needs to be the centre of everything in my life. So how do I do that? How do I make needed changes in my life to show God as being at the centre? I’m thinking show is the wrong would… as I don’t want it to just LOOK like God is centre to my life, but that he actually IS centre to my life. It’s been good for me to have the accountability of having a daily moment of faith on my blog. It helps to keep me centred and thinking on God you know?
As I read Joanna Weaver’s words I’m wondering if part of my batteredness (is that even a word?) is that my prayer life is ….. not as strong as I like it to be. Yes I pray, and when someone mentions a need I’ll lift up a quick prayer for them, or when I see them on the homeschool forum or their name flit back on facebook or Instagram I’ll pray for them but do I pray continually and with meaning? NOT.
Do I sit down and just talk with God about my thoughts and what not? (I don’t mean literally sit down but figuratively) Honestly, not as often as I should.. generally more in the “I’m not doing so well moments”. I need to break out of that… to reach harder for the better part of knowing the Lord and wanting to spend time in his presence.
The question then is how to cultivate that? How do I cultivate a more consistent prayer life? A more consistent time of centring myself in the Lord?
Consistency
When my lad was young I had a little book of scriptures that I read with him. We’d do one passage per week and basically memorize them. We used them as a start to a night time prayer. I am recalled back to that and how often I don’t pray as I should because honestly… my life isn’t that scintillating.. what would I talk about all the time. But as I get more consistent in study of God’s word life… I can use that scripture reading, or that spiritual book reading as a basis for talking with God? Wouldn’t that be awesome? A daily build in right there!
Creativity
Prayers don’t always have to be the same eh? Prayers can be sung, whispered, written. Prayers can scripture based, need based, thanksgiving based, or just a mish mosh. They can be “hey we have food and people! Thanks for it all”. They can be rote or they can be spontaneous. Changing it up means you don’t just pray just to pray, but you pray because it’s GOOD to talk with the Lord and to listen to him talk back as he recalls scriptures and biblical truths to mind.
Conversation
Prayer is just that you know? Prayer is meant to be a conversation between you and God. It’s talking and listening from both sides. God listens to us, we talk to him. God talks to us, and we listen to God. This is a skill that needs to be cultivated just as you do when you make a new friend, or are maintaining an older friendship.
What say you?
Is there something in your life … like in mine…that needs to change so you have a better centre? A better way to make the rest of your life revolve better?
Will you pray for me as I learn to pray for you all the more? Feel free to contact me privately if you have a prayer concern, or mention it in the comments. I’ll try to connect with you to see how you are doing. Accountability is a good thing you know?
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