Long Haulers

"Prayer is a disciplined dedication to paying attention. Without the single-minded attentiveness of prayer, we will rarely hear anything worth repeating or catch a vision worth asking anyone else to gaze upon." - The Spiritual Life by John Westerhoff & John Eusdon

Sometimes prayer is asking God FOR things…help, comfort, strength, wisdom, healing, forgiveness. It's praying for a job, a roommate, the right words, a prodigal son or daughter. It's asking on behalf of a friend, for our nation, the vulnerable & marginalized, and maybe even for miracles. 

Yet, sometimes prayer is asking God ABOUT things. Like a child to a parent, we ask God why? How come? When? Where? As we learn to ask God about things, we grow in intimacy. Imagine that…intimacy with God!?!? Who else do you seek for understanding from except someone close and trusted? There's always room for concern and even doubt, but the dialogue develops attentive listening. 

In the end, prayer is a way to seek help, but it's also a way to grow in a relationship. What if every day we learn to ask ourselves, 'where does my help come from?" (Ps.121) We ask not because we are confused but to remind us of God's presence and living faith. Eugene Peterson described Christians as both Disciples & Pilgrims. A Disciple is a learner but not in the academic setting of a classroom but more like at the worksite of a craftsman. It's how one acquires skills in faithful living. A Pilgrim suggests we are people who spend our lives going someplace, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way of Jesus. Eugene Peterson quoting Friedrich Nietzsche said, 'The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be long obedience in the same direction", which is the only way to produce fruit and make life worth living."