Prayer: What Does Not Work ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I pray every single day.  I try to be in constant conversation with the Father.  Picture Tevye at the beginning of Fiddler on the Roof.  I talk to God when I drive, work, and wander about the house.  I try to obey the command to pray without ceasing.

Also, I have time set aside for specific attention just to prayer.  I pray for friends and family.  I pray for my government and my nation.  I pray for the needs of those caught up in disasters natural and man-made.  None of this takes as much time as one would imagine.

What I am pondering for the next few days, however, is what does not work.  What about prayer is a waste of time.  Curl back your toes if they are easily stepped on for I will not be over-careful where I step on this one.  Prayer works.  That does not mean that it works the way we want or expect it to work.

Two conversations I have had about prayer teach me that we do not always understand the nature of prayer and its purpose.  Too often we express things in a way that sets us up for failure.  We place ourselves in a position to ask amiss and blame God for the lack of things unfolding as we want them to unfold. 

As I walk through this thinking please to not mistake my blunt approach for a lack of compassion.  Failure to get the premise right almost always leads to the wrong conclusion.  We address the living God and must do so with the heart and attitude requisite of the task. 

Please walk with me a bit Dear Reader as I attempt to remind my spirit what does not work in prayer.  As always, I value your company, questions, and counsel. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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