Tag Archives: Relationship with God

Prayer—A Paradigm Shift

Posted on by under God, Prayer

Journal 2006

I’m struggling this morning with “the prayer list.” When I’m processing with clients, they see/hear immediate answers to prayer. If God doesn’t answer, I know to ask a different question or pray something else. Feedback is immediate.

When I’m praying through a list, however, I don’t know if I’m getting through. Perhaps that’s because my attention or focus has always been on the person him/herself. I visualize the person and try to think what I should pray for—and then I say it.

What dawns on me is that my eyes and ears are in the wrong place. If I look at the Master instead, He will guide my prayers so that they’re following what He wants for the person, not what Karen wants. It moves the focus away from a grocery list to a relationship—where He wanted it all along.

Lord, can I come sit in Your lap as a little child and talk to You about these creatures You’ve made—and loved so much that You died for them? They’re a sorry mess—the whole lot of them. And I’m one of them!

Shall we start with my friends x and y? They are so needy. What do You plan to do for them, Lord? Yeah, I know that’s Your business. But would You mind sending an angel or two to minister to their broken hearts and bind up their wounds; and would You hold them for me because I’m too far away to do so myself?

Thank You.

A 2025 Update. I just read A Change of Habit, by Sister Monica Clare. She was a Southern Baptist who, as a child, felt the call to become a nun. She lived a secular life, married, divorced, and then finally fulfilled her life-long dream and became an Episcopalian nun (I didn’t know there was such a thing!) But my takeaway was what the nuns taught her about prayer. This week I took a hike in the woods and soaked in my surroundings, fully alive and aware with all my senses on alert to the divine. Prayer is more than a list; it’s relationship. It’s awareness and stillness and listening.

A DAY OF DELIGHT

Posted on by under God

Ben and MeFrom my 2015 Journal. Three-year-old Ben spent the day with me while his mom was out of town and big brother Jack was at school. Together we unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, emptied all the trash, shredded a ream of paper, lined up all the toy cars and trucks, assembled some puzzles, read some books, and played games together. He learned how to climb up the ladder at the playground, snacked every hour, and went potty frequently, needing some help still with getting his pants up and down. I let him do everything he could by himself—until he asked for help, and then I eagerly stepped in to proffer my assistance. We made messes, we picked them up. I told him over and over again how much I loved him.

This whole day was spent in deep delight as I watched Ben’s skills improve, his joy in the playtime, his eagerness to help me do housework. “I’m a big boy!” he’d declare periodically. And when he remarked, “I love you, Grandma,” my heart burst with joy.

Was this little tyke really helping me? Could I not have loaded and unloaded that dishwasher in half the time it took for him to decide where every piece of silverware belonged? Did I really need his help emptying trash cans? The answer, of course, is no. And he often needed more assistance than he gave in return. Sometimes we had to clean up the messes that he made while attempting to help.

As I reflected back, I saw this special day through the eyes of my Father in Heaven. He graciously allows me to “help” Him, I make messes that He has to help clean up. And I need Him a whole lot more than He needs me. But a day spent with Him is a deep delight to us both.