Come Messy

Even when the walkway is just barely

 above the marsh 

and the end isn't quite in view....

and the next part of the plan 

is still veiled......

Jesus says---Come Messy. 

I have been preparing an introduction

 to a prayer retreat

 that I am leading in October and 

think the following words apply to both our prayer lives 

and also to the sharing and connecting on this blogsite.

It is really when we are real enough, 

vulnerable enough, 

and honest enough,

 to also share the shortcomings and the struggles-

then Jesus can come to lift us up,

 even as OUR  STORY

 continues to bring HIM GLORY.

Come Messy!

Come overwhelmed with Life.

 Come with a wandering mind.

Come depressed. Come cynical.

Come too busy to pray.

Now God has something to work with-

when we are out of control,

 failed in our attempts to hold it all together.

 When problems stack up in this noisy world, 

and we dart out a plea for help,

 how are we suppose to hear God’s voice?

Learning to pray doesn’t offer you a less busy life, 

it offers you a less busy heart.

Prayer is about your relationship with your heavenly Father,

 and you will change.

Still not sure about just what that means?

 That’s OK.

Jesus meets you RIGHT THERE.

 Prayer is about being needy and a cry for grace.

Dependency is the heartbeat of prayer.

Doorways into prayer can use all sorts of entry themes: 

anxiety, helplessness, relationship, 

repentance, asking, story, and hope.

We don’t need more self- discipline to pray continuously, 

we need to be poor in spirit. 

Poverty of spirit makes room for His Spirit.

Approaching the Father simply as Abba, 

allows us to come child-like, to learn to play again.

And so we begin.

To pray in the chaos.

To watch God’s drama of our lives unfold.

To trust again.

To give thanks in all things.

Because the Praying Life

is interconnected with all of Life.

And it is the journey of a lifetime.

Blessings,

Connie

thoughts pulled from readings in The Praying Life- Paul Miller