HSYM
24 February 2004
Managing a Meandering Mind
ANOTHER FANTASTIC NUGGET I FOUND ON CHRISTIANITY TODAY:
http://christianitytoday.com/leaders/features/macdonald.html
The way I say this is "Pray with a pencil!" Write stuff down as God is directing your prayer... as disconnected as the thought may seem.
ENJOY!
Managing a Meandering Mind
Turn your prayer distractions into God-directed dialogue.
By Brad Preston, guest columnist
Like the prodigal son, my mind wanders recklessly into a far country when I pray. In moments of solitude when I am just getting close to God, my brain shifts into gear and speeds off for the highway.
I tried making a list.
I tried walking around with my eyes open.
I tried praying out loud; I tried praying real loud.
The harder I tried to eliminate the distractions, the more frustrating they became.
Then an idea came to me unexpectedly. What if the interruptions are God's effort to dialogue with me in prayer? Perhaps God has a better handle on prayer requests than I do. What if I allowed him to use the distractions to direct my prayers?
I decided to surrender my prayer agenda and to stop fighting the interruptions. Instead of battling my wandering mind, I lift up each random thought in prayer when it comes: "Lord I'm thinking about doughnuts. You got any idea why?" Sometimes praying on it clears the thought away, but other times God uses the thought to speak to me (like convicting me that there's a hole in our relationship).
Besides opening a new world of interactive dialogue with God, my learning to pray the interruptions instead of fighting them, I discovered, has other benefits.
Don't go there.
At times my prayers are interrupted by what appear to be inappropriate subjects—lustful images, anger about the ministry, complaints. My response used to be denial. I didn't want to admit those thoughts could enter the sacred place of prayer. Frustrated, I would push them away. If they came back, I pushed harder. But the pushing became a distraction in itself.
One morning in prayer I was distracted by my irritation with a particular Christian. I was tugged toward bitterness by my ineffective attempts to disciple stubborn believers.
"Just once, Lord," I prayed, "could you give me someone I didn't have to push so hard?"
God answered, "Why don't you let me take care of it?" God's reply showed that I had been harboring a burden that wasn't mine to carry. Had I ignored the distraction, I would likely have kept carrying it.
Sometimes God uses praying through the thoughts to cleanse them from my mind. Other times I pour out the struggle in all its strife like one of David's psalms. Either way, it has awakened a new honesty and transparency in my relationship with God.
Don't go there, either.
I like sticking with my prayer list because a list is safe. A list can be used to pray for other people's needs while conveniently overlooking your own shortfalls.
But heeding the interruptions doesn't allow for that careful avoidance. It forces me to address sins, regrets, and shortcomings I normally wouldn't choose to include on my list. Now when my prayers are interrupted with, You need to devote more time to being intimate with God, I don't just push the thought away, I stop to pray about it.
If there's guilt tied to the issue I've been sweeping under the rug, praying about it brings forgiveness. And since I'm actually praying about it instead of ignoring it, I'm more likely to make changes in those areas.
By letting the Lord add his items to the prayer list, and by willingly accepting a distraction as an area to explore with Him, I'm doing a lot more listening.
The pastor's smooth and eloquent public prayer is much different from the struggles most of us wrestle with in private. But I'm finding relief in an area that used to frustrate me. My prodigal mind is beginning to follow the path home—the path that takes me straight to the Father.
Brad Preston pastors in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
14 February 2004
Houston Dare 2 Share Student Conference is April 16-17, 2004
For those who can't go to Youth Convention every year, this is something similar, but with a special emphasis on students reaching their campuses for Christ. Advance registration is $40 and you can check out their site from the link below.
Dare 2 Share Ministries - Houston
Have you heard of the CORE?
April 24th @ Memorial Drive Presbyterian Drive Church for $59.00
This conference is for Youth Leaders Only. Our good friend, Fred Lynch, is scheduled to be the speaker.
the CORE flyer
13 February 2004
09 February 2004
XRD related Grammy
Just for a topic of conversation, you can share the blessings of David Martinez ( a member of the Grammy Award winning Best Gospel Choir) who connects back to his years as one of the youth from El Tabernaculo Assembly in H-Town, and is excited for the award for:
A Wing And A Prayer
Bishop T.D. Jakes, choir director; The Potter's House Mass Choir
[EMI Gospel/Dexterity Sounds]
Congratulations to The Potter's House Mass Choir! Attaboy, David!! Que Dios le bendiga!
Look at Category 57!
GRAMMY.com
07 February 2004
Bienvenidos! Welcome!
Este lugar es donde usted puede communicar con todos los que desean saber de las actividades de la Seccion de Houston de las Asambleas de Dios. El ministerio juvenil esta marchando, y queremos que usted se une con nosotros para hacer todo lo que Dios quiere que hagamos.
This is a place where you can communicate to everyone who wants to know the activities of the Houston Section of the Assemblies of God. The youth ministry is on the move, and we want you to join with us to do everything God wants to do.
To participate, please make a comment, and leave us your correct email, so we can make you a contributing member. You can always simply remain a member with all rights and priviledges to comment.
Para participar, favor de commentar en el lugar abajo (Comment) y darnos su e-mail correcto para hacerles parte de los aprobados para agregar informacion. Por su puesto, puedes siempre quedar como miembro con derechos de simplemente hacer comentarios en cada informe.
