Active Prayer

“Every morning, I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar.” (Ps. 5:1-3 MSG)

“Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”  (NLT)

During our homeschooling years, my son and I spent a few hours every morning going over corrections from the day before and lessons for the day ahead. It was the best and worst part of each school day.  Most mornings, he would be groggy, grumpy, and easily distracted. Math was the worst. As I tried to explain the mistakes from the day before, he would just wait for me to work out the answer. As I taught new material for the day, he would space out frequently. I remember tapping my pencil on the desk frequently to get him to pay attention.  Now that he is in college, things have changed. He takes a much more active interest in learning.

I spend a few hours every morning in prayer and study. I lay out the pieces of my day in front of God. It’s time for corrections and new lessons. I get distracted frequently. I would rather play a passive role and let God figure it all out and actually DO whatever needs to be done too. But God insists that I pay attention and learn—He can easily solve all these problems—but that doesn’t help me learn anything.

So, I shall pray actively. I shall meticulously present each issue to Him and wait in focused attention. I shall take notes, ask questions, and listen carefully. I will especially stay alert to corrections, because mistakes point to the gaps in my knowledge and flaws in my technique. I shall practice, read, study, discuss, and collaborate with fellow students. Every time I start getting distracted—I will try to pull my attention back to the task at hand. I will no longer be passive during my prayer time. I shall get so much more out of these few morning hours if I participate in the learning process.