prayer life

Have you ever heard anyone say "the love life you have is exactly the love life you want?"

I heard that yesterday and started thinking about the other kinds of 'lives' we have, specifically our prayer life. And I definitely think we have exactly the kind of prayer life we want. Meaning, if we really wanted one, or a deeper one, we would do it. We would have it. We would make the time. It's up to us. God's ready when we are.

I'm a list girl, so I have been trying to nail down some of the characteristics of the prayer life I want, and the steps I need to take to get there.

Here are a few:

-I want my prayer life to be full of joy.

Whether things are going well or not so great,
spending time with God creates an irreplaceable joy that
lives inside...and that helps bring beads of joy into even the
roughest situation. I don't think that kind of "optimism" or whatever you
want to call it doesn't just happen. It's not a natural response.
The joy builds from faith and trust in Christ.

-I want my prayer life to be fun.

Believe or not, prayer and spending time with Jesus
can be really fun. Though there is definitely a time for contemplative,
quiet, serious prayers, it's not my day to day style. I like to be loud,
I like to laugh, I like to be dramatic in the presence of the King.

-I want my prayer life to be spontaneous.

Sometimes it's important to plan, especially when you're
trying to create habits. But I also want to leave room for complete
spontaneity so God has room to move and work without me trying to
direct our time together every day. Plus, really amazing things can happen
when you don't plan every second out (and trust me, I AM a planner).

-I want my prayer life to be inclusive.

When I pray with others, I want them to feel drawn in. I want to stay open
to what God can do through people coming together to praise the Living God.
I want to be open and welcoming and challenging.

Oh, my God You've turned Your eyes
now my heart can come alive.
only You have come to find me
only You have come to pull me out
only You have come to save me
no one has ever loved me
like the way You love me...
wrap Your arms around me.
-etwc "save me"