Skip to main content

“Pray creatively. Sigh. Shout. Sing. Or try something else.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Dare to Drop the Pose (p. 96). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Creativity and variety can make activities more meaningful.  Because doing things the same way can lead to boredom. 

Craig says, “You might try: 

Writing your prayers. That’s what I do on Mondays. After a hard weekend of preaching, I sit at my computer and talk to God in writing. Some weeks I write a thank-you letter to God. Other weeks it’s more like a complaint letter. Sometimes it’s like an e-mail to a close friend. If you’ve never tried writing your prayers, grab a pen, paper, laptop, iPad, or iPhone and pray away.

Praying during routine tasks. Praying while commuting to work can make a long drive pleasurable and valuable. (Just don’t close your eyes. Remember, Jesus said, ‘Watch and pray.’) Maybe you can pray while you’re grocery shopping, doing the laundry, or working out at the gym. Turn your common activities into uncommon time with your Father.

Praying in different places. I’ve got a favorite prayer chair. I also have a special place in my yard that’s holy to me. You may enjoy praying in your office, in your shower, or in your bed before sleeping or after you wake up. You can clean out a closet and make a private altar. Get out of the box and turn an ordinary place into an extraordinary place for God.

Varying your body’s position. Onetime, pray sitting. Another time, try standing or walking. At times you may enjoy the reverence of kneeling. Sometimes you may be so overwhelmed by the glory and presence of a holy God that you fall face down on the floor.”

He goes on, “I’ll never forget an awesome moment I had with my oldest daughter, Catie. When she was seven, she burst into my home office, beaming with excitement. ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ she shouted. ‘God will tell you He loves you, if you listen closely enough.’

“I didn’t understand, but I respected her passion and enthusiasm, so I asked her to tell me again. Smiling from ear to ear, she repeated herself word-for-word: ‘God will tell you He loves you, if you listen closely enough.’ Then she got very quiet and looked toward the heavens.

“Pause. (Still pausing.)

“Then, glowing, she said slowly and deliberately, ‘See, I told you He would! You just have to listen closely.’ I’ll be honest. I didn’t hear anything at that moment … but I’m convinced that my sweet seven-year-old did.

Craig then says, “God will speak to you, too. If you listen closely enough.”

Maybe trying something different would make a difference?

Yes, yes!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...