Just Continue That Thought...

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 a

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Dare to Drop the Pose (p. 88). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Craig says, “‘Does God care about my sick goldfish?’ my six-year-old daughter asked. “Her question made me pause. I don’t really care about the goldfish. Why would God? Then I noticed a tear begin its long, slow trek down my little girl’s cheek. Because I cared for her, suddenly I cared for the stupid goldfish.” He goes on, “God is like that. Because He cares for you, He cares about what you care about. Paul seemed to know that God was into the details of our lives. He reminded the believers of Philippi, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything , by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6, emphasis mine). Paul didn’t say to pray only about the big, hairy, important-sounding things—but about everything .” Craig later says, “Paul sa

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Dare to Drop the Pose (p. 87). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) This is getting to why we pray and to whom we pray.   Are we communicating with God or with someone else who is listening when we pray out loud? Craig says, “Jesus wanted people to be real, not showy. He taught, ‘When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray …  to be seen by men’ (Matthew 6:5, emphasis mine).” Craig goes on, “During his tenure as president, Lyndon Baines Johnson once asked Bill Moyers, a former Baptist minister who was on Johnson’s staff, to pray before a meal. Mr. Moyers was honored to pray, but when he did, President Johnson couldn’t hear him. The president asked Moyers to speak up so everyone could hear. Moyers replied, ‘I’m sorry. I wasn’t talking to you, but to God.’ Crain then says, “One day it dawned on me why praying out loud made me nervous