In Others’ Words: Keeping Company with God
There was a time, back when I was involved with teaching women’s Bible studies, that we spent an entire year studying prayer. I read a variety of books on the topic. Discussed prayer with my co-leaders. And, of course, I spent a lot of time applying what I was learning — which means I spent a lot of time praying.
Of all the things we learned, the most life changing for me was the concept of listening to God during my prayer time. I stopped talking, talking, talking — asking, asking, asking — and I started listening. I learned to quiet my mind, my heart, and to wait on God because I wanted to hear if he had anything to say to me.
One of my favorite Scriptures is 1 Peter 3:12 that says God’s ears are open to our prayers. But during that year devoted to prayer, I learned the importance of listening for God’s voice … and yes, it was, as Philip Yancey says, a new way of ‘keeping company with God.’
Do I still ask God for things? Yes. Can I fall back into a shopping list mentality when it comes to prayer? Yes. But that year was a change point for me — where my relationship with God became less about giving and taking (Him giving and me taking) and more about listening and waiting.
In Your Words: What are your thoughts on prayer? Have they changed over the years? How? Recently I found the 31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids App by Bob Hostetler. It’s a great prayer tool!
In Others’ Words: Keeping Company with God #InOthersWords #quotes #prayer
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“For me, prayer is not so much me setting out a shopping list of requests for God to consider as it…
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