July 17, 2009

Anyone that has traveled down the pathway of prayer would probably admit that they have been changed not only by the act of praying itself, but also by those who offered assistance along the way. Sometimes those that teach us to pray are as close as our best friend or our pastor. Sometimes the ones that have a deep impact on our prayer life are located worlds away.

For the next 3 weeks I would like to share some prayers with you that have been exremely formative in my life of prayer. They are the simple and profound words of Richard J. Foster and come to us from his work entitled "Prayer - Finding the Heart's True Home". If you find that these words are at all helpful or enlightening, I would recommend that you examine all the thoughts and insights he offered in the remaining pages of this book. I have been blessed beyond measure by his writing.

Here is today's prayer:

Dear Jesus, how desperately I need to learn to pray. And yet when I am honest, I know that I often do not even want to pray.
I am distracted!
I am stubborn!
I am self-centered!
In your mercy, Jesus, bring my "want-er" more in line with my "need-er" so that I can come to want what I need.
In your name and for your sake, I pray.
Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 15 - Richard J. Foster