I’m sure my children are so very tired of hearing me tell them to keep up the good work. That practicing something the correct way will help the task be closer to perfect (ie, practice makes perfect, so to speak). But it is so true that repeating a task consistently will put you on a path for improvement. I’ve seen this ring true in my habit of taking a small chunk out of each day to spend time with our God.
I don’t believe that there’s a perfect way to pray. Just talking to God the way we chat with our very best friend is essentially “perfect” in my book. Because He, my Glorious Savior, is my very best friend. He knows every detail about me; more than anyone on the earth. But I do admit that the consistency of the time spent in conversation with my best friend has been known to wane a time or two. But my decrease in prayer quality time hasn’t been because of my level of faith, although that may be true for some people.
For me, it’s about giving myself the daily gift of sitting still for thirty minutes or so and allowing my quiet time to be focused on saying thank you, asking for guidance, and being a prayer warrior for those in need. We are so incredibly busy in our household that it seems we are on the go at ninety miles an hour from the minute our toes hit the floor to the minute are heads hit the pillow at the end of the day. We are always on the go go go.
During the times in my life where I was more disciplined and consistent with my personal spiritual time, I have noticed that my life is more balanced and secure with the world around me. I feel stronger and less burdened by life’s demands. During the times when I would skip a day or two (or more) on a regular basis, that’s when I remember feeling the pressures getting more forceful and the happy days didn’t seem as often. These are the times when I think my turtle shell will crack.
From the beginning of our grief journey, I have had to chat with our Father whenever I felt I needed to. This means that God has heard my voice more than just once a day, sometimes every hour, for the past ten months. I’ve never heard a busy signal when I’ve called on Him. He’s never dismissed me to His voice mail. He’s always answered my call with a cheery voice ready to help guide me in the right direction. His arms are consistently warm with an extended invitation and very welcoming to hear my cry, whatever it was at that moment. And I have never felt closer to Him in my life.
He is even more incorporated into our daily motions and decisions than ever because of my prayer consistency. Never have we needed Him more than we have this year. I truly believe that my children feel His presence always because I call on Him so much. Wherever they are in their own faith journey, I am secure in knowing that I have paved a path for them to travel down confidently and with the presence of our Lord; never alone.
Another great article that was written a few years ago really resonated with me. If you want to read on, click here.