can I ask you a question

Have you asked God for what you want?

Sure, you've talked about it ad nauseam to yourself. To your friends. Again to yourself. Maybe you've talked about it with God. 

But have you asked??

Ask. Put yourself out there, and ask.

It's a simple step, but too often glossed over. We want, we want, we want, we want want want want want want. Wanting isn't always wrong; it isn't always right. Depends on what we want. So we scheme, strategize, plot, maneuver, overthink, obsess to get what we want. 

Why should we ask God for what we want? What does asking God do for us?

1) It reminds us that so much is out of our control. We're not in charge. 

2) It's vulnerable to ask. It means we might hear a 'no.' And some of us would rather do anything than risk hearing a 'no.' Truth be told, sometimes what we want is something we know we know is not good for us, that would do us harm. But we still want it. Hearing no can hurt.

3) Asking can show how much and why we want something. When we have to ask, we may have to explain why we want what we want. Luke 11 has this parable about asking God for something. "...yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs (Luke 11:8)" 

You know this to be true. You ask your parents for something one time but never bring it up again, they would reasonably infer that you want it, but not too badly. So it wouldn't matter much if you did not receive it. 

But if you asked. And you asked again. And you asked again. And you talked about it, heard questions, answered questions, and still kept asking. What does this show? It shows that this is something you really, really want. It matters enough for you to show persistence. 

So ... what do you have to ask God for? What do you want? 

Speak up, and ask.

make your bed, text a prayer, love the day

Committing to life changes feels so daunting. Where should I start? 

It's mentally, emotionally paralyzing to try to answer that question. 

For what it's worth, it helps me to think of the smallest possible change I could make until I figure out the bigger changes. 

Lord, I don't know what big changes to make just yet, but surely I could make a small change -- help me take a tiny step in that direction.

But sometimes, the most minute, minuscule of changes causes giant improvements.

The littlest rock, once removed from your shoe, will remarkably improve how you walk.

The tiniest smudge, once wiped from your glasses, remarkably improves your ability to see.

Sending a text you've put off sending will do wonders to improve how you feel about yourself and your productivity.

Moving your phone away from where you sleep  will remarkably improve how rested you feel when you wake up.

For me, I always feel like I could pray more. 

 

ALWAYS. 

 

Yet a friend of mine recently commented that when people asked Jesus about how to pray, Jesus gave them the Lord's Prayer. Which ... is not a long prayer. Jesus also talked to them about the uselessness of heaping empty words into a prayer. 

 

A longer prayer doesn't automatically mean a more valuable prayer.

So maybe short prayers are the point. Like text messages. When you text with close friends, you rarely send a verbose, gotta-scroll-down-a-few-times-to-read-it-all text. 

 

It's short statements. 

 

It's incomplete sentences.

So talk like that with God. Doing a short prayer beats doing no prayer. 

 

And it's a minuscule change to the routine. I could pray while brushing my teeth. Or pray while walking to my car, or stepping into a meeting. Or when I put shoes on, or take them off. Whenever and whatever keeps the dialogue going.

Anyway, adjusting the slightest little routine can alter the course for an entire day. Or week. Or month.

Or life.

I've done an experiment lately: I make my bed just after I wake up. Before I pour myself some coffee, I make the bed.

If only it was like this

And then: whenever I make or look at my to-do list for the day, I always write 'make bed.' And I strike a triumphant line through it to signal its completion. 

 

Just helps set a tone for the day, I'm told.

Commit to some incremental adjustment. It often precludes huge strides forward.

We all have giant, gargantuan dream lists of what we'd like to see be different in our life. To lose weight. Renew our faith life with God. Smile more when we meet people. Stop snacking after midnight. Talk back to our anxiety to let it know who's boss. Pursue the dream. Stop obsessing over perfection. Talk to the crush. 

It all seems so out of reach. Where to start?

Start by making your bed. Start with a short prayer. 

Also, what other little step(s) can you take?