My father’s illness revealed how sparse my prayer life was. I prayed a lot more when I was confronted with illness or when I needed something from God. I was making God into a relationship I only turned to when I was in trouble.
A wise friend reminded me that prayer is about talking to God. When you are in a relationship, you need to communicate with each other to share your difficulties and what is happening in your life. In a good conversation, you listen as well. Instead of making God into an emergency first responder, I decided to deepen my relationship with God, to speak to God more often, and sometimes patiently, wait for a response. For me, prayer has now become more of a resting: a trusted dwelling with one I know who loves me (and all the world) beyond human comprehension. It isn’t always easy but seeing prayer as a conversation with someone I love allows me to hear and dwell in the words of the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
This message is excerpted from “Prayer changes things,” by Ann L. Fritschel in the July/August 2018 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Jan Hus, martyr, 1415.
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