Excuses

Link: Core Values
Focus: Prayer (4/7)
Day: 12/95
Pathway summary: Being faith-filled, fervent, continual, and heartfelt in my expressions, petitions, and supplications to God.
Justification: (2 Timothy 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 6:5-13; Mark 9:23)
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Setup:

Why do I stop praying? Why don't I start praying? What am I doing instead of praying?

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Prep:

I wanted to blog today - it seems exceptionally easy to talk about prayer. Then I realized that I had chosen to blog instead of being sweet to my spouse - which led me to reviewing prayers about frustration and praying against anger and getting delivered - which led to a list of reasons not to pray.

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Execution:

I recognized the lack of peace today and started with prayer "yay, minor win". And ... I am thrust back into the mix. Again, I am reminded that without the correct orientation, the right attitude, the enlightened perspective, the natural tendency is to either quit or do the wrong thing.
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Day 12 Conclusions / Thoughts

I suspect a part of the reason I am capturing my current state of these various topics is to ensure I document the problems I am having - so ... hopefully I can learn from them.  And so, today's topic focus is on the excuses I make to not just not pray (cause that's too easy). No, today's topic is on the excuses I make to not have a Godly perspective.

Perhaps I am different than everyone I know or have ever met - but when I'm on a roll of any kind, the inertia of remaining in that direction and maintaining that vector is ... addictive. Or at least desirous at the time. I would join the bandwagon during, before, and after on why the vector was bad at the time ... but while I'm in it ... it's like I want to feel all the hurt, frustration, anger, or whatever.

Much wrong here. Maybe it's the whole ... I wonder what the dialog would look like if I were to talk to Jesus about this ....

Is this how I act?

No, I am an imperfect copy.

Ah - yes, this is the post about excuses.  No two objects are identical.

Right!

That doesn't justify failing. You weren't trying. Seek me first and the rest follows.

But - I'm so tired and I don't remember in the moment.

Yes - you're tired for several reasons; but, do you remember your last post?

Um, I think so.

Right - you're not praying without ceasing - you haven't master the auto-response yet.

Huh?

The part where you practice praying in response to everything?

Oh, yeah ....

Yup - I put those words in your mouth. They are a goodness.

So ... I need to pray in response to everything?

Jason, the whole point is to train yourself to make this part your default response.

But ... I get tired and then the bad habit responses start.

We're not getting into sleep now. Be faithful in the small. The rest will follow.

I'm sorry for failing this so many times, God.

Don't be David Tennant.

What?!

Seriously - just be yourself but focus responding rightly in small steps.

Okay. Thank you for speaking English to me.

Sure - I love you :)

I love you, too.