| Written Prayers ~ Cargos of Love 1 Dear Sisters I may have shared with you before that oftentimes, when I start to pray, there are many distractions. Sometimes, they may not only be 'outside' distractions, but also 'internal' distractions. Not being able to concentrate or focus on what I want to pray about. I have wrestled with this often, and as a result, have even written down some of the prayers I have, asking the Lord to forgive my lack of concentration, distraction and focus. Asking Him to keep my head clear of everything else, and only on Him. Sometimes, by writing down my prayers, it takes my mind off of the distraction and on to what I want to write (thereby pray) about. I have found this method most helpful in my miserable time of frustration. (And a miserable time it is, because I am filled with guilt ~ feeling that I should spend more time in prayer to the Lord, and here I am ~ not even able to concentrate enough during the short time when I do attempt to pray!) I have also wondered as to the difference between 'prayer' and my 'thoughts'. The fact of the matter is that thoughts on concerns, fears, joys, revelations, appreciation and gratitude, when directed to the Lord or living to please Him, are, in fact a form of prayer. I may not be down on my knees. I may not have started the prayer with "Dear Lord". It may not be a 'formal' prayer. Nevertheless, it is conversation between my Father and I. He wants to hear from me. He wants me to ask of Him, thank Him, glorify Him. He wants to hear from my heart, whether it is an audible or written petition. Oh, how grateful I am that He understands my weaknesses. He knows me, yet still wants to commune with me! I also know that this dilemma (for it is a dilemma, isn't it? when you can't communicate as you would like with the Lord) is common to others. Especially when there are trials and tribulations in our lives, which demand a lot of our mental and emotional strength. I mentioned the concerns I have about prayer to a brother in Christ a few years ago. He was adamant that it was no good to 'catch a prayer here or there'. He told me that the Lord required more attention and concentration (and time!) from me than the tiny 'prayer snippets' I offered to Him. At the time, this discouraged me immensely, and I went into a guilty rut. I became obsessed with trying to pray 'formerly' and with 'length of time'. Oh, how I thank the Lord that we grow in Him. That He teaches us, shows us His truths. I was praying like the Pharisees ~ more out of a sense of duty, than of love, reverence and Godly fear. And oh, how precious those ounces of Godly fear are! If this is the case with you, may I encourage you to continue to communicate with the Lord in whatever way you can? The written word is a great tool and often carries precious cargos. To this day, I still have some concentration (and distraction) problems with prayer. Alas! I will continue on.....I pray this for you, too. I thought I would share some of my written prayers to the Lord with you. There is no right or wrong way to pray. The most important thing is that we communicate with our Heavenly Father. With love to you ~ in Christ, Helen |