Lord, teach me to pray….

So it’s Maundy Thursday, or Monday-Thursday as I called it in childhood.

Having no concept of time has its advantages. I didn’t struggle in the least with a day that held two days in it.

I simply knew that it was special and somber and involved a church service that night with dimmed lights and hushed voices.

Although only a child, I had a deep attraction to reverence; even if I understood little  of the event we were commemorating, including the correct name.

There are other aspects of my faith that I appreciate and ascribe to that still call for growth in understanding and maturity in practicing.

One of these is prayer.

Oh I pray.

All the time.

And I believe when it says, Pray without ceasing…it does mean prayer, as an on-going conversation with God, is essential to staying connected to Him.

I pray for people’s health, relationship and financial requests and for God’s work in lives. I pray for people in lands near and far away. I pray for governments and leaders and workers and nations; my church and the Church. I pray for our family. Oh yes; I pray for our family. And I even pray for the known and unknown faces that read this stuff.

But quite honestly….far too often…..my prayers just spiral downward into a file marked “Let’s make Laura comfortable.”

For example….I pray regularly for green lights so I won’t be late AGAIN, or for the instructor at the Y to realize we have done ENOUGH leg lifts, or for resolution of conflict in a situation because I am tired of hurting.

You get the idea….

It occurs to me that perhaps God had a little more in mind when He said the prayers of a righteous man avail much, or My house shall be a house of prayer, or in everything, with prayers and petitions give thanks.

This week, when I started praying for strength to get through the last set of ab crunches, I was convicted to turn those prayers into petitions for people who are really suffering. When I prayed for the line to move quickly in the drive-thru, I turned it to prayers for women who walk miles for water every day. When I felt helpless and overwhelmed in my own circumstances, I asked God who I can help and how to do it.

And, in case I needed reinforcement, good old Oswald Chambers hit me over the head with his observations in My Utmost for His Highest yesterday morning.

His words remind me that the more I think about me and what suits my preferences, the more out of touch I become with God’s heart about others.

The antidote for my self-centeredness is the worship – acknowledging the Worth-ship – of God.

When I measure life by His worth, not mine, my life and my prayers line up with His will.

God bless each of you these next few days with the meaningful remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection.

May we all grow daily in understanding and may we grow up and mature in our faith as we choose to worship Him, who alone, is Worthy.