Prayer
doesn’t have to be a boring chore but a loving activity. A lot of Christians
struggle with their prayer lives because they do it only because someone has
told them as a rule to do it or it is a traditional routine. I remember growing
up under zealous Christian parents and it was a rule to wake up at 6:00am, say
my prayers first, then make my bed, clean my teeth, have a shower before having
brekkie. It was also a rule to always pray before I ate anything, even a gum
;-). These prayers meant nothing to me especially the ones I said before meals.
Although, my lips would say the words in a hurry, my mind was always on the
mouth-watering dish in front of me, the devil was in its delicious aroma,
tantalizing my nostrils and distracting me from my prayers.
I grew up, fell
hopelessly in love with God and things changed. Prayer time was no longer
something I avoided and pushed to the very last on my schedule. It became
bonding time with my Love; a time to tell each other sweet things; a time to
pour out my heart to someone trusted till there was nothing left to share.
Unlike my ‘routinous’ prayers which lasted a few seconds, max, I could go on
talking to God for hours and it would feel like minutes. In fact, I have had to
literally drag myself off God’s presence because I still didn’t feel like going
anywhere after a very long time with Him. I look forward to be alone with this
Love of mine. I rush home from work daily because I can’t wait to get home,
shut the door behind me, fall on my knees with a smile already playing on my
lips and start to bond.
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| Me enjoying a beautiful moment of fellowship with God |
Prayer time is
synonymous to romance time. People in a relationship or engaged to be married
would know this feeling. The day your fiancé is visiting or taking you on a
date is always very special for you. You prepare by making your hair, cleaning
up nicely, wearing your best clothes, e.t.c. You keep looking at the time to
see if it is almost time for the date or visit. Time seems to crawl because you
just can’t wait. People around you who are sensitive enough can sense your
excitement and know you are expecting someone special. All this excitement is
only because you are going to be spending some time with the one you love,
expressing your feelings to them with words and actions, laughing with them and
just having fun together. Sometimes, you share your pains and worries with your
love and just having them listen to you make the challenges seem to go away in
that instant. You are assured that even if the problems persist, you are not
alone in them. Prayer works in much the same way. Have you ever wondered why
your problems seem smaller when you tell them to God? It is not only because
you have shared them with someone but also because the light of His presence drives
away every darkness of doubt and fills your heart with faith at that moment.
Now, I realize that
this has been a bit one-sided so let us see this from God’s perspective. How
does He feel about all these? Well, he is just as excited as you are, honey.
Like a newly-wed-love-struck wife can’t wait for her husband to be home from
work, He can’t wait for you to come home and fall into his arms. It doesn’t
matter that He was right there with you at work doing His own protective job
while you worked your ass off, he still can’t wait to have you all to Himself
because He cannot get enough of you. He can’t wait to hear your voice which is
unique and different from the voice of any of his children and which sounds
like music in His ears. Every prayer time is a date with God and He is
constantly asking you on a date.
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| Throwback to September, 2014. I was so troubled in my spirit. I was trusting God for an urgent miracle and as I knelt in prayer, a cute little girl snuck into my room and caught me on camera. |
