Luke 11:1-13
I’ll be the first to admit that the first few years out of college have been very odd. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s a bad phase of life, but it is very disorienting. I imagine that if you talked to just about any person in their mid-20’s, they would express a similar sentiment. In college, we all had this built in community. We were surrounded by people our age with similar interests and those relationships came so naturally. However, upon graduating from college, those relationships take on a very different feel, as I’m sure you can imagine. I’m lucky enough to have a few good friends that I’ve stayed in close contact with. When I have the chance to be around those friends that I still talk to on a regular basis, it’s as if we never left college. Everything feels very natural and comfortable. On the other hand, on the rare occasion that I’m with a friend that I haven’t talked to as much over the last couple of years, it’s always a little awkward and uncomfortable at first. It takes time for us to re-establish that connection that came so naturally when we were around each other all of the time.
The same is true of our relationship with God. It is incredibly easy for us to find ourselves feeling awkward and uncomfortable in His presence when we haven’t been spending much time with Him lately. It’s unfair for us to expect that we can just dive into that relationship whenever it’s convenient and that everything will flow smoothly and normally. In order for that relationship to thrive, it takes the same time and effort that we would put into a relationship with a close friend or spouse. There are countless different avenues through which we can pursue that relationship, but perhaps none is more important than prayer. Find time to read Luke 11:1-13 and consider what it means to be persistent in your relationship with the Father. In order to be the prayerful people that we want to be, it takes time and practice. Prayer is a difficult task, but it can flow much more smoothly and naturally as we enter into relationship with God and learn to listen when He is speaking.
What can you do to place yourself in the presence of God more regularly?
What new styles of prayer (journaling, meditative, embodied, etc.) can you practice that may open up a new window in your relationship with God?
(Post by Cody Poinsett)