Monday Blues: Is this how Wile E. Coyote feels?

I lay in bed, pretending my alarm is not about to shriek its awful chorus into my ears, imagining that 6 my children have not already greeted the day with their excited chatter and and the pounding and bounding of many small feet in the bedroom over top of my head. I drag the covers up, wishing I could hide in this warm blanket cocoon until Tuesday. But Mommy duties demand attention, and hungry little tummies need nourishment, lunches must be packed, and little shoelaces require double knotting. I escape from beneath my cozy, purring kitty and test the chilly floors with my toes. And then it hits me.

Monday.  

Suddenly, I'm aware of every aching joint in my body, a heavy weariness that not even my morning java can dislodge. I feel as if I dreamed all night of being Wile E. Coyote, victimized by anvils crashing on his head. It's going to be a long day. "Dear God, " I pray, "Help me. Help me, please."

As the fog clears, I see it for what it is, the Church hangover, the Monday blues, adrenaline dump. What bothers me the most is not the physical symptoms, but the emotional: the pervasive feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. It's ironic, feeling this way after a Sunday of serving God and the church, because without Him, we are worthless and hopeless.

I can't shake those 'feelings' so I call them what they are: feelings, not facts.  Feelings will pass, and tomorrow I'll be back to feeling like myself, optimistic, hope-filled, energetic. For today, I'll look for truth - what does God say about me? A few verses come to mind as I think about how God thinks about me, about us. I'll try to focus on these things - God's love, His care, His plan - rather than my weariness, as I pour milk into cereal bowls, change diapers, and begin to work on next Sunday's worship music.

Psalm 139:13-16 NLT
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Romans 8:37-39 NLT
 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Romans 5:6-8 NLT
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

John 10:10 NLT
The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

How are you feeling today? What Truth is God pointing you towards to draw you closer to Him?

Spiritual Formation: Technology and Intercessory Prayer

How many times this week have you told someone that you would pray for them? Maybe it was a Facebook message, a passing conversation, or a telephone call in which someone stammered out a painful problem or stressful situation. Regardless of the situation, I often catch myself replying, thank you for telling me - I'll pray for you. And do you know what happens next? I either pray for them, or shamefully, I forget. My intentions are good, but my harried pace doesn't always lead to remembering things well, even my prayer list. 

I don't want prayer to become a meaningless reply that I use when I don't know what else to say. 

I don't want to use the topic of prayer to end a conversation that I'm trying to hurry out of. I don't want prayer to become something that I say because I don't know what else to say or because the conversation is heading in a difficult direction.  I want to mean it when I tell someone I'll pray for them. 

Whenever it's appropriate, I stop what I'm doing and pray right then and there. The words, "May I pray for you right now?" are surprisingly powerful. Those words alone can soften hearts and words and needs. If I don't know what to pray? Well, I just say that in my prayer, because the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don't know what to pray. Usually, the person in need just tells me and that's how I direct my prayers. 

If it's not appropriate to pray at that time, I make myself a note. An Evernote, to be exact. I use my iPad for everything, so it isn't crazy for me to use it for my prayer list. I keep an extended prayer list on my iPad using the Evernote App. This app is a gem for organizing your life - you can create individual notebooks (ie personal, sermon ideas, song ideas, worship planning by month, etc). And then create individual notes in each notebook. 

I have one single note for my prayer list, and I have it divided up into 4 sections: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (otherwise known as the ACTS method). Often, I'll come up with an idea for the adoration section during my Bible reading time, from a story I heard, or just from my own daily life. I write it down, and read through it every time I pray (It's getting rather long!) and it helps me focus on the attributes of God and the blessings of God. In the Thanksgiving section, I write down answers to prayer, blessings - anything big or small. Sometimes I'll add dates. It helps me remember all the prayers God has answered, and all the times He has been faithful in difficult situations. And I make sure to thank Him as I read through the list. Then, of course, we have Confession. It's not easy to write down the ways that I sin, but I try to name and seek forgiveness for the things that I do wrong - this section is the smallest, but some of that is because I seem to miss the mark on the same things over and over again. And lastly, we have supplication. This is by far, the largest section. Here is where I write down all of the prayer needs that I have heard or seen or received. And I pray for them as I read over the list. When the prayer is answered, I move it to Thanksgiving. Otherwise, it stays on the list until it's 'expired!' My iPad is always with me, so I can jot down a prayer request at any time. 

If you don't use the Evernote app, any note taking app will do. In fact, if you have a recent iPhone, you can tell my BFF Siri to create a new note - and then tell him/her what you would like to have written down in this new note. You can add alarms and reminders so that you don't forget to pray and add this request to your regular list. 

Does it seem like this technology takes the mystery away? For me, it allows me to be more consistent when I intend to pray for others, and it also helps me see how God has answered or is answering those prayers. And this fuels me to pray all the more, when I see how my prayer time can make a difference in someone else's life. It also helps me remember to check up on those who I'm praying for. It means so much more when I remind someone that I'm praying for them and ask for an update so I can continue to pray. 

I want to be faithful to my words, especially when I say that I will pray for someone in need. The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective; if I'm not praying, then I am failing to show love to the person who truly needs it. What techniques do you use to stay on top of your prayer list? 

A Few Thoughts on Prayer from Dr. David Earley’s book, Personal Prayer: the Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders

If the Son of God, Jesus Christ, needed to spend time alone with God the Father in prayer, how much more do fallen humans like me need to pray? If Christ prayed in order to lead His disciples and to carry out His ministry, how much more important is it for spiritual leaders, pastors, Sunday School teachers, and worship leaders to pray? Nothing can be more important in the life of a spiritual leader than time in prayer. For example, Dr. Earley discusses Martin Luther’s daily prayer time, which was generally two hours per day for any typical week.  But during a particularly busy week, Luther claimed that he had so much to accomplish that he would start the day with three hours of prayer.[1] Luther’s example demonstrates the need for spiritual leaders to pray: Busy leaders need to pray because it may “be the best time-saving device you have.”[2] Earley, like Martin Luther, believes that spiritual leaders are too busy not to pray. That is a serious re-prioritization that we all need to consider. What would our lives look like if we prayed first and most, and did the rest later?

The Apostle Paul provides instructions for the church when he writes “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” [3] Paul means that prayer needs to be a priority and that Christians need to be spiritually alert, watchful for how prayer worked, and thankful for God’s blessings. Apostle Paul also knew how critical prayer was in the life of the believer.

Dr. Earley wrote about many great prayer ideas, but especially three that I will attempt to apply to my own life include: establishing a daily prayer time (23), institute a regular space for prayer (27), and praying for others (33). Dr. Early recommends establishing a daily prayer time because, “most of need to set a daily prayer time or times if we hope to build a dynamic prayer life.”[4] Dr. Early also recommends establishing a place for prayer: “I have found it very helpful to establish a set, solitary place for my daily prayer time.”[5] Lastly, Dr. Earley encourages Christians to pray for others: “One of the purest and most powerful ways for a leader to express and exercise such love is intercessory prayer.”[6] Intercessory prayer, according to Earley, is “coming to God on behalf of another.”[7] I can’t think of any greater gift to give.

I am forever grateful to the person who told me that she threw herself down on the altar to cry out to God to spare my infant son’s life. She prayed fervently –desperately – and hopefully for my child, who is now a bursting-with-energy, happy, healthy 7 year old.  I always believed in the power of prayer, but I never believed in it so much as when my son’s tiny life hung in the balance. I realized that when there is no other recourse, we believe most fully. So how do we carry that depth of belief and certainty in the power of prayer into our daily lives? I guess,  more than anything, it just takes practice.

Prayer works and we need to do it.

Bibliography

Earley, Dave. Personal Prayer: the Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. Chattanooga, TN: Living Ink Books, 2008.

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[1] Dave Earley, Personal Prayer: the Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders (Chattanooga, TN: Living Ink Books, 2008),  5.

[2] Dave Earley, Personal Prayer: the Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders (Chattanooga, TN: Living Ink Books, 2008), 5,

[3] Col. 4:2, NIV.

[4] Dave Earley, Personal Prayer: the Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders (Chattanooga, TN: Living Ink Books, 2008), 24.

[5] Ibid., 28.

[6] Ibid., 33.

[7] Ibid., 34.