confession.

i have a confession to make:

i am a prayer slacker. it's really hard for me to sit and focus on one thing for more than a minute. so, i often lift prayers up to god throughout the day, even if it's just a random thought like "man, those people in haiti...they need you god" or "wow, driving through this inner city neighborhood reminds me of how fortunate i am." you get the point.

i did join a prayer group at my church on monday mornings before i started seminary and we went through a book that discussed different kinds of prayer. it was really eye opening, and it introduced me to the labyrinth which i absolutely love as a method of prayer. we also discussed prayer walks, breath prayers, singing, etc etc.

i follow the blog of pastor pete wilson from cross point church in nashville (don't ask how i found it, i just randomly find things through the blog of matthew paul turner...

i've never been to cross point, but this pastor has great wisdom at times. today, he posted on prayer, and said this, as he found it in a book called The Me I Want to Be....I've never heard of it, but here's the nugget of wisdom:

When I pray, I end up praying about things I think I should be concerned about: missionaries, world peace and global warming. But my mind keeps wandering toward stuff I am genuinely concerned about. The way to let my talking flow into praying is this: I must pray what is in me, not what I wish were in me.

i like that. i tried to use this other book about contemplative prayer during lent, and that was a failure. it lasted for about two days. it wanted me to sit in silence for twenty minutes each day. needless to say, that didn't happen. HOWEVER. pete wilson also brought up the following book: Confessions of a Prayer Slacker by his friend Diane.


i think i should read this.

i confess, i am a prayer slacker.