Tune for Thursday: From Going Through the Motions to Going Deeper

 Dear Lovely Reader,

I don’t know about you, but I have been very blessed over my years of my Christian walk to have consistent quiet times. If I could have my way, I would probably spend an hour and a half to two hours in prayer and Bible time… but life happens, so this amount of time is usually reserved for Saturdays. However, lately I have felt my prayer life has been a bit surface-level, which has made me wonder why.

A couple of weeks ago, my church did a sermon on “The One Thing that is Necessary” using the story of Mary and Martha. {Link to Sermon on Youtube skip to 34:55}

But at the end of the sermon, Brad, one of our pastors, gave some practical tips:

1. Daily read, fix a time and place.
2. Pursue accountability
3. Confess: how many times do you talk to Him per day?
4. Attempt to share something that you read in your quiet time.
5. Memorize Scripture
6. Post Scripture where you can see it.
7. If it feels too intellectual, try including worship songs.
8. If your mind wanders, write out your prayer/meditation.

I wrote them down, but in my arrogance, I thought, “Just do it anyway.” There have been seasons in my life when my quiet time has just been a checklist duty, but in that, I know God blesses my obedience and that it will be fruitful.

Well, today I took some time to ask “God, why am I just feeling surface level?” Yes, I am busy, and there are a lot of moving parts, but I am walking through a season of basking in God’s love, feeling redeemed, restored, hopeful, and content. So why do my prayers seem so surface?

Was I just focusing on myself? When I do this, I turn to this prayer:  

From my prayer wall

"Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of life and the beauty of this world. I pray that you would fill our hearts with new hope and joy, especially for those who are struggling. May you bring healing and strength to those who are sick, comfort to those who are hurting, and peace to those who are weary. Bless all those around us, that we may know the power of your love and the strength of your grace.

May we be a source of light and hope to others, and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen."

And I try to break it down line by line and list out people who need prayers for in each part.

But still, while there are always a lot of people to pray for, my prayers seemed surface-level, so I asked, “Is there something —a thought, and influence, a power that is not of YOU?” I couldn’t think of anything… but I went to Brad’s #7 tip “If feels too intellectual; try including worship songs.” And I searched for “Repentance songs” and found this playlist: Link. On it, it had one of the songs I have on repeat a lot, so here I am sharing it with you:

"Underdressed" by Gable Price and Friends

So I'll leave you with this — like Martha, are you so busy doing good things — even good spiritual things — that you haven't stopped long enough to ask, 'God, why does something feel off between us?' When was the last time you set down your checklist, sat at His feet, and simply listened?

Thanks for reading, and if you have any songs you like to listen to, to draw you closer to God, please share them with me.