MAKE MY LIFE A PRAYER

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By Angeline M Duran Santiago

As I've been sharing with you for the past days, I've been reading a book on prayer along with my prayer buddy, my mom, Maria. It is a 40 day challenge, The Prayer Circle by Mark Batterson, to simply be reminded of what we already know. God listens. Prayer is communicating with our Heavenly Father. Still, knowing this we tend to let life take over and we forget what we know, we  stop practicing the life changing disciplines that are needed more than water and air each day. Knowing that we can turn to God in prayer, we choose to live each moment, each hour, on our own, with the thoughts of His Word on our minds and in our hearts, but still, we surrender to tiredness and the daily  tasks, still we refuse to bow our knees in prayer to communicate our surrendered hearts and wills to the Lord.

This book has been a strong reminder of who the Lord is and what He is able to be in my daily life. It's taking the time to recognize He is present, just as we recognize our spouse is sleeping next to us, our child is in the next room and that the cat is looking out the window on the window sill. We see it all, acknowledge it and take care of feeding our family and providing. We need to wake up with the understanding that the Lord is also present in our home, in our lives and in our daily moments. We need to take time, no, let me rephrase that, "I" I, I need to take time to shut the world off for a moment and recognize that the God, the only one that can do for me, my help and my everything is ever present as a forgotten and ignored person and reality in my life. I need to wake up and see God for who He is.

I talk to my mom on the phone and she is full of encouragement that comes from the Lord. Her words are seasoned with scripture and reminders to trust the Lord and believe He is faithful. This happens when we spend time in God's presence. He fills us so that we have for our daily life and we have for the people in our lives that need to hear from the Lord as well. But, we also need to connect to our Source of Power and Life. We take the time to plug our phones in to be charged before we go to sleep. Some people are glued to their cell phones or smart watches as if these items were another part of their body when they were born. We need to turn off all the noise, all the technology and all the rush of our lives and stand still before the True and Sovereign God who has something to say if we will but listen.

Scripture. I'm baffled by how crazy it is that we don't spend our time in the Word. How can anyone survive or learn to make it without getting scripture into their life each day leaves me confused. I can't make it without the Lord. The days that I don't have my scripture time I feel at such a loss. 

Lord, I need you desperately. I shut down and wait on you. I choose to listen to You.

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