Prayer of the Heart

Please join in prayer with my friends, Tam and Papa. This week Tam shared a post - "Pressed to Pray" and Papa just today sent out a call to Please come pray with us! so I thought it would be a good time to continue sharing from Opening Windows compiled and edited by Mary Fairchild. I'm going to spend the next few posts sharing the discussion questions from Your Fresh Take.

On page 97 at the end of the chapter by Leanne Payne – Open to “Prayer of the Heart” the questions are:

Think back over your recent petitions to God. What do your requests tell you about the desires of your heart? For the next week, keep a daily prayer journal that includes a list of your petitions.

When I was thirteen I started my "letters to God" in a spiral notebook, when that book was full, I started another and on and on. Somewhere along the way I quit recording my prayers and regret it. They show you so much. First of all they give hope because you can see how God worked in situations you have long forgotten and secondly you see changes in yourself and realize that God is making you into His image one day at a time. You can also watch your handwriting mature - haha

As you have matured in your faith and knowledge of God, how have your prayer petitions changed? Do you sense that your heart is more closely aligned with God’s heart than it was five years ago? How or why?

My prayers definitely changed from the time I was 13 to my mid-twenties when I quit journaling them. They changed from fairly self-centered to thinking more about what God desires. I still have room for growth as I'm guessing most of us earthbound souls do... I'm a different person than I was five years ago because God has changed things about me that needed changing, but as I see myself now I know that I still have more needed growth in Him.

Choose several Scriptures passages that are meaningful to you. Turn them into petitionary prayers. To edify other Christians, discuss how God has made His presence real to you as you have turned biblical promises into petitions and waited in faith for God to work.

MeMe in Fives

I was tagged by Julie at Flower of the Family to do a getting to know you Meme.
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post the player than tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they done got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
· I was in my first year of marriage
· Working at a Christian Counseling Center counseling individuals and families and working the crisis line
· Living in an apartment
· Teaching 2-3 year old Sunday School Class
· Little to no exercise.


Five Things on my to-do list today.
· Go to the gym – 5 miles on the treadmill and 1.5 on the bike (cool down)
· Clean house in preparation for my mother’s visit tomorrow.
· Get groceries for my mother’s visit
· Mail taxes (finally and buy some forever stamps before the price goes up AGAIN in May)
· Attend Maundy Thursday communion service with my children (husband is at work).

Five Snacks I enjoy.
· Ice cream.
· Homemade cookies
· Fresh, hot bread with lots of fiber and seeds
· Homemade smoothies
· Homemade pizza with lots of cheese

Five Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
· Pay off house
· Support my church with some special projects
· Get safe, reliable vehicles for my husband and myself
. College Scholarship Program for my Undergraduate University
· Support missions in a BIG way

Five of my bad habits.
· Worry about things beyond my control – must quit (Julie maybe we can start a self-help group – haha)
· Reminding my husband (okay nagging) about the speed limit
· Answering questions before its asked - sometimes my husband will look at me and I will answer a question he hasn't asked and he wonders how I can do that.
· Eating when I’m not hungry
· Telling anyone who will listen about whatever book I’m reading at the moment

Five places I have lived.
· Jefferson City, Missouri
· Mount Vernon, Ohio
· Lawrenceville, Georgia
· LaVale, Maryland
· Fairfax, Virginia

Five (+2) Jobs I've had.
· Deli/Bakery Clerk
· Cleaning Crew at Factory Midnight Shift
· Brush Hog operator
· Worker at Sporting Goods Warehouse
· Grocery Store Cashier
· Resident Assistant in College
· Counselor
· Executive Assistant

Five people I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG):

Ashley
Carol – Journey of Hope
Indian Lake Papa Choice R Mine
Tam – In Progress
Tiffany – Tea with Tiffany

If anyone else would like to participate - please feel free and leave a comment letting me know that you played :)

Happy Easter Week!