Confide in God
After a renewing period of rest and full dependence upon God, the desires of life will begin to stir. But don’t stand up just yet. Stay close to God and share these desires with him.
Within the security of God’s love, you can be entirely honest. Begin to lay out your desires before God in prayer. Some of these desires may be needs, and others may be wants. Some may be aspirations but others far less than noble. Don’t sort through your desires for appropriateness. Just lay them all out. It will be quite a jumble, but at least it’s an honest jumble.
Talk to God as if you’re talking to a friend. He knows you very well. Nothing you say can surprise him or shock him. No desire is too insignificant to share with God, and no longing is too embarrassing to acknowledge. You might uncover many different layers of desire within yourself, ranging from base to high. Often, we have glorified aspirations that are mixed with lower desires.
As you pray, other thoughts may intrude. Reminders, plans, and ideas often break in on prayer. Each one demands your immediate attention, but they all can wait. Simply offer them to God along with your prayers. Fears and irritations that were lurking in the corners during confession may suddenly appear. Sometimes an unrecognized desire struggles to make itself known within an intruding thought. If you can, name that desire as you lay all these thoughts before God. Don’t be harsh with yourself. Be patient, like God. You are the master of your mind. Gently bring your mind back to prayer.
Ask also for wisdom. So often, God answers our prayers with a valuable insight. This is especially true if you are seeking guidance about a particular problem. You may be entirely confused about what needs to be done or even what you want. Sometimes you have a vague idea of something you need to pray about, but you can’t phrase it. In that case, say, “Please, speak to me of this.” You may be holding a problem that is shot through with emotion, making it difficult to sort through. God helps us in the process of discernment. His guidance is always gentle.
Prayer is different from the repeating of self-affirmations in which one might say, “I can overcome my habit of overeating.” It is different because you are seeking help from a greater power. Self-affirmations draw only upon human willpower. In the attitude of prayer, you are acknowledging your need of God and trusting God as you share your longings.
Find a time and a place to pray that really works for you. If you don’t like to sit still, you could try walking and praying. Walking can help the mind stay focused. If you habitually awaken in the night, that wakeful period can be an excellent time to pray. If you have trouble staying awake, there’s nothing wrong with praying while you sip early morning coffee.
Prayer does not have to take a long time, and you don’t have to pray about everything all at once. Just pray the desires that come easily into your mind. Words are not even necessary. A sincere attitude of seeking help from God is all that is really needed.
Have patience and be persistent in prayer. Earlier in my life, when prayer was irregular and sometimes long neglected, I noticed that a fervent request took a couple of days to realize an answer. It was as if the path from God to me was overgrown with brambles through lack of use. I imagined that God had to bushwhack his way through to reach me, thus creating a time lag. As I prayed more regularly, the time between request and answer became considerably less. Our persistence in prayer does not change the mind of God, but it does improve our receptivity.
But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
Psalm 38:15
