Write the vision, make it plain..
Hey Guys.
So, I know it's been a whole week, and I've yet to post anything. I've been in deep thought about a lot of things. My future, my career, going back to school(or not), my family, EVERYTHING. I've been in a slight slump finding myself staring off into space and not focusing on what's in front of me. In my last blog post.. I TOLD YOU GUYS NOT TO DO THIS!! So yea, I'm running on "low storage" right now. I'm human and we never take our own advice, right?
I remember when I was feeling like this a while ago, my mom would always say "you need to get back into your prayer life." I used to think to myself, does prayer really make things better? At one time, I questioned if God really heard me. So I went through these phases:
- I stopped praying
- I only prayed when I remembered, only so I could say "oh yea I prayed today, let me mark that off my list."
- I only prayed when I needed something and at my lowest
- I'm never consistent, in anything
EXCUSES
The reasons why I prayed were HORRIBLE. It's like I thought I was Aladdin and God was a Genie. Think about it like this, you have this friend, and the ONLY time she wants you is when you can do something for her. Girl... no one would like that. Neither does God (or whomever your higher power is). I always made excuses as to why I was like this too. Honestly, I still see myself falling back into that prayer slump sometimes. But why make excuses when it comes to him? He gave his everything for you. Remind yourself of this when you start to feel like your prayer life is a chore.
My best friend does this form of praying, journal prayers. This is when you literally write down your thoughts, visions, prayers, and feelings. At first, I didn't think this would be a great form of prayer for me because, geez I'm already inconsistent with verbally praying and I didn't want to "forget" to write something down one day. I thought that this form would probably be the hardest for me. EXCUSES
Since I've started blogging, I've seen how amazing it is to think of ideas throughout the day and anticipate writing them down. It makes my brain flow lol. So.... why can't I do the same with praying?? Can I have the same excitement about telling God my plans, aspirations, and fears? Yup..totally.
I was reading through this website and it gave insight on the benefits of journaling my prayers.
- It will enable me to reflect on how God has answered my prayers - I'll look back and say , "I was sooo worried about xyz..but look where I am now."
- It will help me be more honest with God- He knows all and sees all, but he loves when we come to him humbly. It creates intimacy with him.
- It will help me to remember ALL the elements of prayer. Not only am I coming to him when I'm scared or in trouble, this will help me remember to thank him, pray for others, repentance, and praise.
So, I'm wanting to try this new form or prayer. Who cares if it's not grammatically correct, if I use 3rd or 4th person, or even if I forget a day. This can be in the form of a diary, dialog, random notes, whatever! We all pray different. Even if it's just picking up your phone, going to the notes section and jotting down a couple things. I believe this will help me while I'm in this slump. Maybe if you're having trouble with prayer, try different forms. If you have a different way of praying other than verbal and journal, LET ME KNOW! Let's experience together.
-Sincerely Anstacia