It's Me O Lord, Standing in the Need of Prayer

 

Do you remember a prayer you learned as a child?  Maybe the one, “Now I lay me down to sleep”?  By the way who thought mentioning death in a prayer a child say before going to bed was a good idea?!?  Or maybe a Sunday School teacher taught you ways to pray with your fingers (your thumb for those closest to you, your pointer finger for those struggling, your third finger for leaders, your ring finger for those celebrating, and the pinkie for places/people far away).

Recall, remember, or can you still recite the earliest prayers you learned.  Feel free to share these in the comment section.

Did you learn new ways to pray as a teen?  How about as an adult?

I believe we never stop learning about prayer.  Just as my relationship with my wife and family is constantly evolving and emerging in new ways, so too can my connection with the Creator. 

I used to think about prayer as sitting still.  Now I find prayerful moments holding a camera in my hand outside taking photos. 

I used to think about prayer as monologue words, a sort of litany and list to God about what was in my heart (because I assumed God didn’t already know?).  Now I find silence and stillness for God to get a word in edge ways OR just being in God’s quiet, caring presence.

I love and am convicted by C.S. Lewis who said, “Prayer doesn’t change God, prayer changes me.”  Or to quote the beautiful hymn, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing/sitting/kneeling/walking in the need of prayer”.

Continue to spend time going through your mental file cabinet, the places in your heart, the experiences of your soul to recall the richness of what the word, “prayer” can point toward.

Prayer:  Holy One, open us to a mystery that is saturated and soaked with Your presence every hour today.  Amen.