I sat down to pray this morning and my heart was overflowing. One thought piled upon another: needs, desires, petitions, frustrations. Listening to myself, I thought, Wait a minute—where is God in all this?
It was a good question. In Anthony Bloom’s classic Beginning to Pray, he writes, “Let us think of our prayers, yours and mine; think of the warmth, the depth and intensity of your prayer when it concerns someone you love or something which matters in your life. Then your heart is open, your inner self is recollected in the prayer. Does it mean that God matters to you? No, it does not. It simply means that the subject matter of your prayer matters to you.”
Ouch.
I hit my internal Restart button and opened my Bible to the book of Psalms.
“Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103)
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 107)
“Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.” (Psalm 111)
Reminder to self: It’s not devotion if it’s all about me.
