Sane, Simple, Sacred: I'm a Beginner

I'm a Beginner

...at prayer.

At almost 70 years old,

I'm still a beginner.

I'm learning prayer isn't reading books

about prayer.

It's not composing a prayer list.

It isn't only an oral or silent recitation

of requests.

I'm finding it to involve

much more listening than I imagined...

as much a response as an initiation.

But then again, as I said before,

I'm just a beginner.

5 comments:

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogSeptember 13, 2018 at 9:12 AM
I think we'll always feel like beginners. I agree about the listening. Something that way too often I don't take the time to do - listen. But I try to keep an ongoing dialogue throughtout my days, not just a specific time of daily prayer. This does allow me to hear from the Lord, more than if I just sat quietly for a while.

You're such a great example of continuing to grow and learn for your whole life!
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NonnieSeptember 13, 2018 at 1:49 PM
How refreshing to see your transparency here. I am one year behind you, but with you on all the books and studies on prayer. When I look at all the books I have in my house and on my Kindle, I know I am still a beginner, too. I need to listen better. I need so much in the area of prayer and not left feeling I am lacking so greatly in the quality of my prayers. I long to touch His heart. I do the same as Deanna above.
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FlowerLady LorraineSeptember 13, 2018 at 3:37 PM
Dear Rebecca ~ I will be 70 in 6 months. I am learning that prayer is conversation with Jesus our Savior, our Friend, God Almighty, our heavenly Father. Prayer is not as hard as it is sometimes made out to be. It doesn't have to be lengthy, or full of thees and thous. It can be simply saying His name, sometimes that is all we can say depending on what is going on in our lives. Sometimes it is an unburdening of our hearts to Him. It can be prayers of thanksgiving and prayers of praise. Prayers of confession and repentance. It can be in our quiet times, or all throughout the day while we wash dishes, work in our gardens, clean, cook, work at our jobs, play. Prayer happens in the dark of night and in our brightest of times. He is just a breath away. Our great God hears all of our prayers.

My prayer is to be open to hearing His voice. He doesn't always answer when we want Him to, or how we want Him to. But, His way, His plan is best for us and for His honor and glory. Prayer draws us closer to Him.

I also have books on prayer, on having a closer walk with Jesus, etc. Every day is a learning and growing experience. The Bible is full of prayers by the saints and by sinners.

Prayer is from our hearts. May we let go of ourselves, and cling to Jesus.

FlowerLady
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

I'm a Beginner

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