Praying or Worrying

I was sharing with a friend how I've struggled to pray as much as I would like. I love to pray! But lately life has been hard and chaotic with a large family and another baby on the way. Most days my prayers have been "Help Me" or telling God what I think or what I want. Lately I've been convicted that this is not what I want nor is it how it should be. It's been all one sided. I have failed to listen.

My friend in her wisdom asked, "So are you really praying or are you worrying in prayer form?"

That was it! Instead of really praying for God's will to be done, I was telling God what I thought and then making my decisions based on my own logic, knowledge, merit and then fretting about the outcome. I was taking everything on myself and not letting God be God. As a result I was hostile, anxious, angry and easily upset. I was allowing others views to affect mine as well as my view of myself instead of letting God be my determining factor. Life was miserable for all of us!

During my drive that day I took a step back and listened. God absolutely spoke to me that day and He is continuing to speak to me as I take a moment to listen. With all the chaos it's not always easy to listen, but I'm learning that when I begin to feel that stress of life and am overwhelmed that I need to take a moment and just listen.

God will speak to you if you will just listen. Whether through Scripture, a friend, a song or that still small voice, when you seek Him, He can be found. Sometimes it's not immediate and we must be patient, but He will speak.

So how about you? Are you really praying and making it a conversation, listening to the voice of God? Or are you just worrying under the guise of prayer not really seeking to hear from God at all? I pray we will all grow in listening together!