I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a Prayer Chameleon. You’ve heard of Prayer Warriors: those people who live out Ephesians 6:18 in their daily lives: “Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere” (NLT). Well, I’m the opposite most of the time. I pray when it’s convenient, when I have a need, or most often, when a friend is in the midst of an urgent situation.
A close friend was having surgery this morning. It was a relatively minor procedure, but still warranted some prayer, so I prayed for him. It was one of those generic, “Please let the surgery go well, let the doctors have steady hands, give him and his wife peace, etc., etc.” prayers. As I was in the midst of this prayer, I realized that lately my prayer life has completely degenerated into this kind of one-shot, toss-the-prayer-in-the-air-and-hope-it-sticks kind of prayer. I really don’t talk to God any more….
I used to have a much deeper prayer life: I had a journal and a list of people and things I would pray for on a regular basis. I had a structure and plan to what I would pray about. I would praise God and thank Him for things he had done for me and for answers to prayers, I would confess my sins (which were numerous), ask for forgiveness, and ask for help in cleaning up my act. And I would listen…find out what God wanted from me, what pleased Him about my life, what kinds of things He wanted me to change, getting guidance about how to proceed.
Not any more. These days it’s as if I have nothing about which I need to hear from God or for which I need His guidance. I am running my own life now, thank you very much, and because it’s going well, why should I bother God with the tiresome details?
But I think God cares about those tiresome details, and it’s about time I started bothering God a little more. I think I’m likely to discover that things really aren’t perfect, I really do have things I need His help with, I really do have attitudes I need to correct, and that despite me trying to take over control of my own life, He still loves me and still wants to listen to me and to talk to me. Time to renew this relationship….
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