10.30.2006

an afternoon in the prayer room...

I'm a morning guy. That's when I'm normally in the prayer room. I don't do many afternoons - they're usually taken up by meetings and such. Today is flip flopped. This morning was my morning to drive the school car pool and by the time I got back to IHOP it was Meetingzilla 2006.

Now here I am, 1:45pm and making my way into the prayer room, where I'm reminded of my experience last week. While picking up our truck, I was invited to sit in on a prayer group in a church. The leader specifically didn't introduce me because apparently a prayer missionary makes people nervous when it's time to pray. The discussion centered around how hard it was to live a life of prayer, how easy it was to be distracted and how often we fail. I had to smile, knowing that these were the same questions we ponder around the table in the IHOP coffee shop. Prayer missionary or no prayer missionary, being a person of prayer is not something that comes natural to many people.

In being a person of prayer, consistency trumps charisma, and humility casts a much longer shadow than the desire to be seen or even understood. Everything that would make one bigger, best or first in almost any other role is tossed aside. None of it works before the Father. He is not impressed with our organization or even our ideals. He's more touched by our showing up with a yes in our spirit.

Yes. Yes, father.

Sometimes that is the only prayer I can muster. Fortunately, it's the only one He wants to hear.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so good. Aidan is just memorizing a verse for school, the one about going into your room to pray, and the God that sees in secret will reward you openly.

Anonymous said...

Randy, that is beautiful. Thanks for the reminder. Seriously... with all that has been going on... I just needed a reminder.

Oh, and psttt. Good night John Boy.