It is a Monday morning and at least 10 degrees higher (Fahrenheit) than every Monday morning thus far this year. We have been outside all the day long and what a gift it has been.
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| this boy LOVES being outside |
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| Adam: “MOM, how many of these flowers of his do I have to look at?!?”;) |
So I am going to try something new on here,
A “series” of sorts.
It shall be called “Lord, Teach us to Pray”.
As of lately, prayer and contentment are two practices, or habits, or principles, that I a working towards.
There is a common theme in the past year of the chicken scratched prayers you would find in my journal.
A yearning for contentment, in HIM
And a desire for increased commitment and depth to my prayer life.
For, you see, I have this Almighty One, to commune with
And He gave me Himself as a means for my salvation and security and joy and redemption
Yet so many times I seek to place my security elsewhere
He came so that I may be content in Him and stop running elsewhere
Yet so easily, I cower
So quickly, I forget
And I hold onto Him with a loose grip, but look elsewhere, rather than at Him
I have seen this tendency in my heart to have conditional contentment
When I am HERE, then I am content
Or when I am doing THAT, then I am content
Or when Adam is healthy, then I am content.
But, dear ones, our roots are long and they are to run deep
And we either set our roots on the surface, wedged beneath a few pepples and stones
Or we seek the source, down deep
Where Living Water runs
So we either live a parched existence, miles up from the Source intended for us
Or we let our roots drink deep of that Water, that truly lives
My flesh may lean towards the prior
But my Spirit?
It craves the latter
Then, if that is the water I drink from
And if that is the depth my roots are planted at
Then my contentment should not blow with the wind
Our joy and our contentment are not based on an abundance of EVIDENCED goodness
Our joy and our contentment are based on a Finished Goodness
Not just when we see evidence of goodness in our lives, in tangible ways
But even when all around us, the “good things” seem to be falling apart
His Goodness is Finished.
His Goodness was finished on two splintered slabs of woods
Leveraged into place with a tired and a weary body of a broken Savior nailed to it
And that broken Savior breathed a last
And He conquered death
YET
He returned
And thru that last breath on that splintered Cross
He restored and redeemed and renamed us, lost and astray
Us, who were running here and there looking for contentment
Us, who were striving to keep that Law in check, yet failing
Us, who were offering our choicest lambs to atone for our misdoings
When the Lamb who was slain before the foundations of the world was waiting to show us His goodness
His goodness that stands even when the goodness in our lives seem to be lacking
His goodness that remains when everyone else forsakes
His goodness that holds thru diagnosis of death and pain
His goodness that walks with us during strenuous moves
His goodness that steadies when dreams shatter
His Goodness is finished
Even when evidence of ease and goodness in our day to day is absent
And THAT goodness, FINISHED…
That is where I choose to place my contentment
That is where I choose to place my contentment
But as Paul says in Philippians,
“I have LEARNED the SECRET of being content”
This contentment?
It is a secret and it is learned
It comes with time and it comes with habit and it comes with discipline
(All authored and maintained by blood-red grace)
So all this time, I have been asking for this contentment
I have been writing prayers, asking for it to be given to me
As if it is a free gift, like my salvation
But, really, it is learned and acquired as we seek His face
So I am seeking that Secret
And I am hiding myself in Him
And asking Him to lead me beside still waters
And to root me deep down by Living Water
And along the way, I am seeking to grow in my prayer life
Because, that too, is not a free gift
It is not as though we come to Him, He relieves our burdens…
And gives us content hearts and prayerful minds forever more
No, we are still in this fallen world and we must seek His face
And we must learn and ask and find
We must seek to find Him in the midst of
the distractions and all that is needed to be done
Remember those twelve?
A hodgepodge group of men with worn clothes and blistered feet…
A medley of men worn down by the world and seeking Truth
That God who became man, He chose them
And He walked closely with them
And He loved them deeply
They knew Him most intimately in His time on earth
Yet when it came to prayer, what did those 12, chosen and closest, say?
“Lord, TEACH us to pray”
So Paul and contentment?
“I have LEARNED the secret”
And the 12 disciples and prayer?
“Lord, TEACH us to pray”
These are things we learn and acquire
Let us be faithful in the learning.
So, this mama, swollen with a 24 week life inside, carrying my legless one, and chasing my crazed one…
She is going to be journeying on learning contentment in her Savior
And she is asking Him to teach her to pray
Because, truthfully, she feels as though they go hand in hand
Contentment comes as we commune with Him in prayer
And Prayer increases as we grow content in Him
So this series?
Well it is called “TEACH us to pray”
As I learn to pray more intentionally in this new season of motherhood…
I am going to share bits and pieces along the way
I am going to be more strategic in an effort to be more habitual
So I will share a few areas that I am strategically praying for
And Scriptures and Prayers that keep my mind and heart in focus
During whatever pockets of time I have to utter those prayers.
Does that make sense?
I will try to share it weekly, but boasting in Grace when I fall short.
I would love to have you join me and hear from you on how He is teaching you to pray.