This is my thought! Have you ever dealt with this? Have you had a hard time praying and staying focused? Or maybe it is just a matter of discipline for you? So the problem becomes making time for prayer.
How about when altar time comes around? The prayer person at the front is leading us in prayer and you feel a disconnect. The words seem hollow. You don't know how to "join" with them in prayer. Then, your mind wonders. It just can't seem to stay connected.
I think we have all been there.
Some people are able to pray from the heart but it isn't easy to attain. Prayer therefore seems detached and looses it's luster. I mean, it shouldn't be this hard, should it?
I have started reading a book. And when I say started, think 15 pages so far. I got the book free as a pastoral gift from NPH. They gave something like 16 books and I put them up on my shelf with no idea when I would get to them. One of them caught my eye while I was placing them up there and I pulled it out and placed it on my desk in a hope that I could check it out to see if it was worthy of a boost up the pile.
The book is called Dawn to Dark. It is a Book of Christian Prayer (self described).
I am telling you all this, not because I expect you to go out and buy it, read it and know it. I say this so that you may know where I am going and invite you along.
Here it is in a nutshell. Want to add prayer to your life with me?
The book is about going back to practicing fixed-hour prayer on a regular basis. This is a very ancient practice and here are seven benefits that the book lists:
- Becoming saturated in Scripture
- Joining with the (big C) Church in prayer
- Setting aside our individualistic prayer agendas
- Marking time as sacred
- Finding words for our prayers
- Learning to pray
- Fulfilling Paul's exhortation to "pray without ceasing."
The book suggests maybe not going all in at first but building in the prayer times over time. Here are the prayer times it suggests:
- Prayer at Dawn: Upon waking
- Prayer at Daylight: Between noon and 3 pm
- Prayer at Dusk: Between 5 and 8 pm
- Prayer at Dark: Between 9 and 12 am
I am looking to first add the Prayer at Dawn time. This is the easiest for me to add. You know how it is. Dark house. Quiet house. No one else is up! Good time to pray! The Prayer at Dawn is around 15 to 30 minutes. The Prayer at Daylight is 10 to 20 minutes. The Prayer at Dusk is 15 to 30 minutes. And, the Prayer at Dark is 10 to 15 minutes. These are all suggestions by the book.
I will use this forum to keep you up to date on how it is going. I am very excited to add this to my life! The book even has prayer for each time of the day and also a prayer plan.
How many of us can say we have that? A prayer plan!
