Selfish prayers

For some reason I have been in blog writing mode which is pretty cool. I really like when concepts and ideas flow easily in my direction. I tend to use these purposes for my songwriting but I really enjoy expressing my thoughts on this page for all to see. Something I have been thinking about today is this idea of how we pray. I know that prayer is definitely something I would like to make habitual. I seem to find myself praying at very random times whether it be in my car or right before bed. I have a tendency of praying about things that can be very self-centered. It might be anything from praying about a future career or family to making a good grade on a test. I think many of us pray for things that God can do for us rather than becoming dependent upon Him and desiring His will. We tend to come to God when we have our wants and needs but we don't make ourselves available to how He wants to use us. I tend to think it is so sad when we pray to win the lottery and the rest of the world is praying for clean drinking water and food. Please don't interpret this entry as a venue for finger pointing. I am just as guilty about this as the next guy/girl. This is something that we have to change or else we are going to continue living in our selfish ways. It saddens me when pastors and religious leaders speak of the message of prosperity. They say "give money and you will reap a financial harvest." I would ask them "where in the Bible did Jesus say give me money and you will prosper?". It boggles me how we think that we have it bad when we are living like royalty compared to the rest of the world. We become blinded by our status and yearn for more worldly riches. We have to let God change our hearts and give us a brand new mindset. We cannot keep running after our own desires. It is hard to do but Jesus asks us to deny ourselves. It is going to take some self-examination which can be very difficult but it is the only way we will see change in the world. We will be fulfilled with living water where we will be quenched with everlasting life.

Being reactors

I had an epiphany tonight as I was attempting to fall asleep. For whatever reason, I tend to think deeply about certain subjects late at night. Most of my creativity awakens when I am trying to catch some shut-eye. Something I have been mulling over in my mind is this idea of God and how He makes us stronger. We all have this tendency of being these needy children who constantly run to God when things do not go according to plan. If we viewed God as more of a parent figure than this Santa Clause-like deity in the sky, we would save ourselves a lot of disappointment. God, who is like a father, wants the best for us but we have to play by the rules. When you were living at home as a teenager, your parents(if they were responsible) would give you rules to live by under their roof. These rules weren't constructed to make your life "unfair" but were simply used to keep you out of trouble. A curfew for example would keep you from getting in trouble with irresponsible activities(drinking, sex, drugs, etc). Your parents wanted to protect you and keep you safe. God is similar in that He wants the best for you. One of my big issues in my spiritual life is when I only go to God with things that I don't like in my life. I ask God "please give me patience with this person or thing in my life". I found that I tend to ask God to give me this or give me that when I should seek Him to attain these various God-like qualities. If you want strength, seek Him for strength. If you want joy, seek Him for joy. God doesn't give handouts. You never get an appreciation for something when you are handed it. For example, my parents let me know at an early age that I had responsibilities. When I got a car, I was the one paying for the insurance and making sure that I took care of it. My car wasn't anything special. It was the only thing I was able to get with the money I had. I did appreciate having it because I could get from point A to point B. I had to work to put gas in it. I had to work to fix any issues that came along the way. It helped me to understand how life worked and prepared me to face other responsibilities and grow. The past month in my spiritual journey has also taught me that it is truly about having a Christ-like mindset. God gives us the strength to bring us out of the pits in our lives. God dealt with me about some issues that have been brewing inside of me for close to fifteen years. I always thought I was weak and couldn't break those ties in my life but I learned it wasn't anything in my strength. My mindset has changed and now I know what I can accomplish with God and the strength He gives me when I seek Him. I'm not writing this blog to sound ultra-spiritual but this is something that has had a profound impact of my life. I hope all of you can learn to be reactors rather than waiting for God to react to a situation in your life.