Gut Check

Currently listening to nothing.

In my reading this week for my class on the book of Ephesians, I came across a gut check quote from John Stott. This week we are studying Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3 which is a rather familiar passage for most of us connected with the church. In his section on this prayer, Stott starts his first paragraph off with this statement:

"One of the best ways to discover a Christian's chief anxieties and ambitions is to study the content of his prayers and the intensity with which he prays them."

I'm not going to say much more about all this as I think just Stott's words are convicting enough. The reality of it is my prayers, if they were printed out for you to read would probably leave me embarrassed. The reason being, they are selfish and self centered way too much.

This picture reminds me of one of the two people who when I think of when I get honest about what a beautiful prayer life can look like, my grandma. I remember as a kid sometimes being annoyed by how long her prayers were but when I think back to them, they were so passionate. They were spoken from a humble need and expressed to God just who He was and how impossible life would be without him.

The other lady who I think of is a dear woman named Helen. For about 3 years I lived with her and her husband while finishing up college and serving at my first church. IF there is a woman who prays more selflessly, I am not aware of it. The simple, peaceful intensity with which she prays blows me away. She is disciplined, consistent, faithful with her prayer and her stories of what God has done are inspiring.

A long time ago when I was a youth pastor, I used to challenge kids to spend a week where they were not allowed to ask God for anything while they prayed. What I found, and they said they did to, was just how shallow and selfish most of our prayers are. I'm not saying I don't think about what I pray, I'm just realizing some focus could make a pretty big difference. My question is, how about you?