on prayer.
Greg Hughes, our pastor at Malibu Presbyterian Church, has been going through a series on the Lord’s Prayer, so it’s something that has resurfaced at the top of my mind. As a young Catholic girl, I recited this prayer every night before I went to bed, and despite the fact that I am no longer a member of the Catholic Church, it is something that was so ingrained in my mind it is written on my heart:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-11)
During our one-on-one time at Starbucks yesterday, Lindsay and I pondered our questions about prayer. What is the role of prayer in our lives? Why do we pray? How do we pray? What do we ask for when we pray?
I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past few years thinking about prayer and how I am to pray to God, and the question that I always come back to is, “Is it possible to change God’s mind through prayer?” If the answer is no, then are we powerless against God’s will? If the answer is yes, does that suggest that sometimes God is wrong?
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perfectly still.
The view of Yosemite Valley from the top of Half Dome.
I always feel like I have to do it all. My worst fears are inadequacy and failure, but the reality is that I will eventually fail – we all fail. In the past few weeks, I felt attacked in terms of my ability to live up to the expectations of others. I felt like I was failing in so many arenas in my life: as an intern, as a friend, as a tenant, as a daughter, as a leader. I felt the weight of expectation bearing down on me and I was too weak to carry the burden. My first reaction, as always, was to ask, “What can I do to fix this?” But, God responded in a way that I didn’t expect and wasn’t prepared to handle: “Nothing.” Brian sent me this quote last week from a book that he’s been reading that reminded me how futile it is to try to accomplish anything of value by my own power:
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a pleasant reminder.
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. (1 Peter 3:3-5)
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