i got a feeling...im not the only one.

Dear Lord:

Thank you for this beautiful day. For the sunshine that filled my house, and allowed me to get all of my laundry done. That reminds me, I am almost out of detergent and need to put that on my list. Where did I put my list? I think I left it in the guest room when I was cleaning up which I definitely need to finish soon. Did I iron those pants while i was in there? I may have left the iron on all this time.

Wait, what was I doing? praying...get back to it Rach!

Dear Lord:

Sorry for being distracted. I just got to thinking about all of the things that you have blessed me to be able to do. I hope that I make you happy in the way that I treat my blessings. Thank you for our house. I hope that I can continue to keep a clean house when this baby comes. When is this baby coming? I have so much to do before the baby comes. Since I don't know when he is coming, I better get busy! I put everything I need to do on this one list but now I can't find it. I bet it's in the guest room.

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Sometimes when people ask me to pray for them, I think...' Are you sure about that?' I have no doubt that God listens to prayer. I have no doubt that He does anything and everything He wants to do about situations. However, I doubt my ability to effectively pray to my Maker.

If Jared came home from work and had a conversation with me that was as disjointed and erratic as my 'typical' prayer above...RACHEL SMASH! would be the least of our worries!

My mind is so filled with what I have to get done that I have no brain power left to focus on what has been done FOR me!

What am I thankful for?

Who needs God's special comfort?

What do I need to be working on in my life?

How am I allowing Him to work through me?

These are questions that I should be asking before I pray so that I am focused on what I am doing.

I hear these people speak of prayer warriors. I get this image in my head of people looking somewhat like Mel Gibson in BraveHeart.

 There are those who are sounding the battle cry in the fight against Satan, against disease and against injustice through talking with our Father.

I don't see me.

I am the kind that would love to dress up as a warrior only to be distracted by how accurate my costume is, what kind of battle I will be fighting and if I'll come out with all of my limbs.

When I think of my prayer life, it may look a little like this.

 See the resemblance? (minus the martini glass of course)

Prayer is in my life somewhere and it may get done if I get far enough down on my list to check it off. It's not the focus of what I am doing. 

If I was to play the part of 'warrior' in BraveHeart, I can guarantee that my armor would be sparkling, my weapons would be sharp and I would look a treat...but I would probably be late to the battle if I showed up at all.

As I grow in my Christian walk, the hardest thing I find is to truly focus in prayer. I have started to find time to sit and go through a prayer list. To truly thank Him for the things that He has answered and sometimes thank Him for the things that He had not answered. 

So I wonder how these ladies and men I know have become prayer warriors.

You know who I am talking about...

-the ones who you want to call the moment something fabulous happens or when something not so fabulous happens.

-the ones who you know will lift your name up to God everyday and will focus their time to bring your name before Him.

 It occurred to me that these brothers and sisters have a battle cry of silence.

weird...i know.

Finding the time to be still and appreciate the privilege of coming before God, to really reflect on the thankfulness that you have towards Him. Showing Him through devotion and focus that there is nothing else you would rather do than spend time in conversation with Him. To tell Him all that is on your heart and ask for His guidance and grace...what a battle cry! By doing so, you push Satan and the many other things out of your life so that you can savor your time with God.

I truly believe that He hears our prayers better when we stop checking prayer off of our list. Instead, we must be longing to have our time with Him. We must come into His presence fully prepared to give it all we have and focus our attention. Even if we are busy and only have five minutes, make those five minutes fully devoted to God.

This next year, I hope to find ways to truly devote myself in prayer. It requires no face paint or flashy armor but it does require a meek heart and quiet spirit and that's what I long to achieve.