A Time for Prayer

A too often neglected aspect of my relational being is that of prayer. It is most likely the case with many other believers. Certainly I am in constant dialogue with God, "Help!" Why?" "When?" "How?" "Where?" "What?" It often seems as I am an imposing journalist to God seeking answers to these questions! Beyond these prayers of questioning and petition however, my communication with the divine is not always constant. I try to make it a point to pray for others, I have found making a list for this most helpful. Along with my own words, I have found the words of others, reading them as a prayer to be another avenue of helpful communication with God. I do not have a formula or a model for prayer, but one can easily find numerous books on the subject. Some that I have found helpful include: A Primer on Prayer. Ed. Paul R. Sponheim. The Comeplete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer, and Richard Foster has a section on prayer in his book Celebration of Discipline. These books are just scratching the surface, but perhaps they will be helpful to any who are interested. One of the most profound statements I have heard on prayer comes from Dr. Doug Cullum. Dr. Cullum was speaking in chapel on Psalm 88, after the tragic death of a fellow classmate. He relayed these words, "...when life crumbles in...pray as you can, not as you can't." With those words in mind, I cling to the relationality with God that is possible through prayer, no matter what the prayer may be. I will be posting various prayers here daily, weekly, and monthly. My hope is that these prayers will be helpful as a means of communicating with God.

"I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a people that did not call my name."
- Isaiah 65.1-2