Our pastor recently started a series in Sunday School about "Lord, Teach us to Pray." That inspired me to pick up a book off my shelf that i started but never finished some time ago (probably before kids!) called "The Prayer of Jesus" by Hank Hanegraff. I ran across this quote which really hit home for me:
"Why bother praying if God knows what we need before we even ask him? ... The very reason this question is so often posed is that we have been conditioned to think that supplication is the sole sum and substance of prayer....Prayer, however, is not merely a means of presenting our requests, it is a means of pursuing a relationship with our heavenly Father. ... Relationships are cemented not just by giving and getting but by love and communication ... If we are to nurture a strong bond with our Creator, we must continually communicate with him. And prayer is our primary way of doing that."
This is my heart's earnest desire -- pursuing that intimate relationship with my heavenly Father. I was better at when I was single, with no children. But it has been a lot harder when my time is not my own. Not that I would trade my husband or my children for a return to a single lifestyle! But it is so easy to get disracted by the pressing concerns of taking care of physical needs of 4 other people (soon to be 5!), that I have often neglected my own spiritual relationship with my heavenly Father. But there is still that longing in my heart -- the call of my Father seeking fellowship with me when I have gotten distracted and found myself at the far end of the meadow instead of in the arms of my Good Shepherd.
So, thank you, Pastor Kevin for starting this series. And thank you Kelli, for your part in encouraging me in making time for God, even amid the constanst demands of lots of little ones!
