Look Up

LOOK UP

When you look up, what do you see?  The sky, the ceiling, a skylight…which is arguably a combination of the sky and the ceiling. J

Do you believe in heaven?  When you pray, do you look up?  Lift up your hands in surrender?  Or do you fold your hands and look down with respect and reverence?

There is no one right way to pray…just like when you look up there are multitudes of things you might see.  Stars and moon at night.  Clouds, sun, and birds during the daytime.  Tree limbs, a gazebo ceiling, a skyscraper or a hayloft—it all depends upon your surroundings and your perspective.

Prayer life is that way.  It all depends upon the surroundings or your current circumstances.  You may be the sort of person that prays 99% of the time with folded hands and eyes cast downwards or sealed tightly shut. But when faced with a monumental task or trauma, you cry out to God with arms reaching toward the sky, seeking His help. 

But consider this…try looking up more often.  Those prayers of desperation often include heartfelt pleading, even begging.  If you surrender more of yourself to your prayer life, I believe that God listens with greater magnitude.  Oh, that isn’t to say that he doesn’t listen to every prayer.  He is our Father; He wants us to ask of him the big important things that are on our heart. 

If you are a parent, just think about this.  If in the course of a conversation with your son or daughter, the child says, “I’m doing OK, I’ll be fine,” you may hear a twinge of desire for assistance in that if you are super-intuitive.  But if that same child says, “Things could be better, and eventually I’ll probably be OK,” most parents could probably guess that your offspring needs something, and you might try to egg it out of him.  BUT if your child says with passion, “I could use a little help.  Maybe even a lot of help,” you definitely will jump in with both feet and get to the bottom of it and help that child if you can.

It’s true—God is all-seeing and all-knowing.  But we also need to ask for his help.  We are given free will and unless we ask, he might just let us wander around the desert for 40 years and see if we can find our way out.  

I am a writer of Christian Fiction and my address is Enumclaw WA.  I have my books in local bookstores (The Salt Shaker, Mountain Aire Mercantile, and The Sequel.  I would love to meet with local civic groups and share my story about how I got started as a writer.  Thank you for reading my blog.  Marilyn White