The Art of Prayer

When I was little, I used to have a notebook where I would write down who I would pray for every single day. As I filtered through the pages I laughed at how much paper I had wasted. How worthless the little book was. How I had only written a handful of names in sloppy big colorful writing on each page and then designated a new one for each day even if the names were the same.

 

But then I stopped for a second and I started to think. How much time do I take now to write down who I am going to pray for?  Designating a separate page for the hand scrawled names? And sadly, the reality to that question is that I don't, but I need to. I need to go back to that inner child who found joy in writing those names and truly remembering to pray for them each night as my mom held my hand.

And I wept. I wept because that's what Jesus calls of each of us to do. That I would laugh at such an innocent but beautiful act that I didn't know the value of until now.

Needless to say, I'm getting a new journal this week, and guess what? I don't care if I waste a whole page with just one person’s name on it. And why? Because that one person matters just as I as one person meant something to Christ.

 


For that single name, on that single piece of paper will be anything but worthless, and it will merely reflect the true art of prayer.

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