PRAY: The Beginning and the End

Posted by Marti on February 15, 2010 in Pray | 2 comments

I want to state up front that I’m not a prayer expert, just a Christ-follower and eager learner. A few years ago, I began praying the disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to pray.” I’m still praying that prayer and watching him answer it in surprising ways.

As I continue with this blog, I hope to share some of the things He’s taught me about prayer on what I’ll call the PRAY days. Since I see prayer as a relationship more than an activity, PRAY may also include other thoughts and ideas as well. On the READ days, we’ll examine books I’ve read (or want to read). I may also post some interview with authors I know (or want to know). Finally, the WRITE portion will include some of the writing tips, tricks, and helps I’ve learned (or—you guessed it—want to learn). I hope to post at least three times a week but am sure that will change with the work and/or family seasons.

Blogging’s a scary prospect. I find this especially true for introverts like me. We don’t enjoy being the center of attention, and the Internet’s the cyber-equivalent of Carnegie Hall—or maybe Yankee Stadium.

Or not. That’s another reason blogging intimidates me. What if no one stops by to read? What if no one comments? And especially—what if no one cares?

That’s why I wanted to begin backwards. To my logical mind, the blog order should follow the order of my tagline: READ. WRITE.PRAY. But two important people in my life have dyslexia. And both have taught me much about the benefits of the backwards approach.

It seems obvious by now that I want to begin my entry into blogdom with a prayer. Prayer has to come first because my relationship with God comes before anything else in my life. So I decided to flip things around and begin this first week of blogging where I’d planned to end.

God, this blog joins many others as an expression of ideas. Speak through me. Allow me to share what’s right and true. If I embarrass myself, let it be for your glory. If I say something wise, let that be for your glory, too. And mostly, Father, help those who read and the one who writes learn more about you—because we love you, and we want to love you more. In Jesus’ name I pray—AMEN.