Day 113 - Prayer Reminders

"I started the day early because Jess and I woke up around 4 am and I couldn't get back to sleep. I prayed and said “What would you say to me Lord?” “Get up.” Was His response. I sat for a moment and then got up and went out to listen but I think I did most of the talking. I think God just wanted me with Him and I needed to be reminded to spend time with Him."

This morning, a year later I woke up at 5 am. I thought about praying and also thought about how my days have been going. Rest and prayer are two things I need. I ended up choosing to go back to sleep and thought I could pray later. At the end of the day on my way home I realized that I had prayed throughout the day but not as I need to. 

For all of us we need to look at the example of Jesus. There were times he would turn aside to pray or go up to the mountain to pray. It boggles my mind that God in the flesh would need to converse with God the Father who is a Spirit. It makes sense when I look at the internal dialogue I went through this morning with myself over if I should pray or not. I was talking to myself. In a greater way I believe that Jesus, God in the flesh, was so committed to the human experience that He placed Himself in a position where He would have to pray and connect with the Father. We get a picture of this when in John 17, as Jesus is praying, He talks about the oneness He had with the Father. Now that Jesus is ascended He enjoys that oneness again. 

Jesus prayer for us is that we be one as His body but also that we be one with the Father. God in us and us in God. That can be amplified with our prayer life. As we connect and talk with God our hearts are changed by the time we spend with God. Even if we feel we did all the talking or if we simply listen and say nothing God is at work. Take some time to pray and really connect with God in prayer today (and every day). 

What are your prime times for prayer? How can we connect with God on a deeper level in our prayers?