Hard Time Praying?

taken from http://photocsc.blogspot.com/

Have you ever tried praying regularly? I'm not talking about before meals or at church, but on your own. If your like me, you have tried numerous times, but end up finding excuses or destractions that fill your day. Ironically, I still find time and energy to check my facebook/twitter/tumblr/ect... on a regular bases and its not even hard! Sometimes its too easy.  What is going on here??? 

I recently went on a quest to find out why or what can help my prayer life. Spending time pondering and going through articles, books, and sermons on prayer, I came up with five things about prayer that has helped me change my view on prayer and made it a little easier to pray. 

1) Prayer is HARD!

- People naturally like to be independent, self-reliant, and have something to show for themselves.

- Today's fast pace, technology and ambitious driven society makes it difficult, even for non-Christians, to spend time in solitude, reflection, and detachment from the world.

- Spiritual Warfare (Satan doesn't want you spending time with God) 

2) Prayer is only possible IN CHRIST.

- Prayer is entering into the presence of a holy and perfect God. Sin is not allowed. Only the work of Christ on the cross allows us to enter into communion with God.

3) Prayer is not a chore or religious mandate, but a PRIVILAGE. 

- In the OT era, it was very difficult to enter into the presence of God. They had very strict purity laws and and only to be in God's presence long enough to provide a sacrafice.

- Today, because of Christ's work on the cross, we can have a relationship with our Creator, the God of the universe. What a privilage! Other religions don't allow or even dream of direct relationship with the diety. 

4) Prayer builds a heart of DEPENDENCE and TRUST IN GOD.

- You live long enough and you start to realize that a lot of things in life are out of our control. We need God everyday more than we think.

- Adam and Eve's problem was choosing independence over dependence. God designed us to fully rely on Him.

- Saves us needless worry and time! Who better to trust than God Almighty, the perfect and good Creator of the Universe.

5) Prayer keeps our FOCUS on God, His Kingdon and Will.

- People naturally tend to focus on things other than God (sin). With so many destractions, things like regular prayer keeps our focus on the important things. Having and building a relationship with someone requires time spent with them., it requires our focus.

Prayer is hard and it requires effort. However, I truly believe that, like excercise, once you get past the difficult beginning, it will get easier. But we must remember that because of sin, it will be a lifelong battle against complacency and laziness. Even our prayer lives, need prayer...rely on God. Take baby steps. It is a process. The important thing is to constantly remind yourself of how important regular prayer is. And by regular prayer, I mean time with God, however that may look.

As followers of Christ, WE NEED AND SHOULD DESIRE TO PRAY. PRAYER IS THE ONLY THING THAT WILL SUSTAIN US UNTIL THE RETURN OF CHRIST. 

Good guideline/starting point:

The Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6.9-13)

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

It includes focus on God's name, kingdom, and will, as well as dependence on Him for daily forgiveness and deliverance from evil. 

Helpful Non-Biblical Resources:

1) Blogpost by Dr. Ken Berding:

http://thegoodbookblog.com/2011/feb/04/actually-praying/

2) Sermons on prayer by Dr. Erik Thoennes:

http://www.graceevfree.org/sermon/gods-prayer-life/

http://www.graceevfree.org/sermon/worshipful-prayer/

A Day in the Studio.

My friend Kenton works at a recording studio in Hollywood and offered to give me a free recording! Dreamed of this since I was a lil kid. Record a song...check.

 

Mini Adventure

Having most of my days free, today I decided to go on a small adventure. Its been 5 years since I moved to LA and have never once been on the metro here. So, I decided to take the metro down to one of my favorite spots...Manhattan Beach. (apologize for the picture quality, used an iPhone 3g -_-)

 packed and ready to go!

Began my morning with a hearty breakfast @Burger King...and fyi, they serve Seattle's Best now, not bad.

Took the Long Beach transit down to the Metro Green Line in Norwalk.

Got off the metro green line in El Segundo. Nice to avoid traffic on the 105 :)

Had to get off here to cross the street because I was heading the wrong direction. I had the right bus number...I was just heading the opposite direction -_- embarrassing. But my bus driver was nice enough to give me a free transfer pass :D

First stop...Manhattan Bread & Bagel. Been wanting to try it for a while. According to yelp, people from New York think this is the closest in LA to what they've had back home.

 

I had the Cinnamon Raisin Bagel, toasted, with homemade whipped cream cheese...ONO.

 Walked down to Manhattan Beach...amazing weather today!

Can't come down to Manhattan Beach and not get Peet's Coffee! Tried the Americano, iced, for the first time...amazing!

All in all, it was an awesome day. Having had a car in LA for the past 5 years, I had taken it for granted. But there was something about riding on mass public transit that was quite enjoyable. It had been awhile since I had taken the bus, but being a little older now, there was much more to appreciate. Maybe because I don't do it everyday, but I really enjoyed sitting there, not having to worry about driving or traffic, sitting with strangers from all walks of life and various cultures, and observing life happening around me. 

If you ever get a chance, take the day off and take advantage of what your city has to offer. Life is happening all around you, all the time...don't forget to stop and notice it :)

HOPE

Some of you may be going through some tough times lately, seasons of uncertainty and difficulty. We all have and we all will. I heard this awesome song on the radio today and was really encouraged. 

If we are honest with each other, Christian or non-Christian, we can all say that life is not perfect, not always happy, and many times unfair. 

BUT, this song reminds us that for those who hope in God, in Christ (which ANYONE can do if they desire) can live smiling and have HOPE...hope in God's goodness and promises, hope in the future, hope in eternity :)

Before the Morning by Josh Wilson

Super 8 and reliving my childhood dreams...

Just saw Super 8 and it was amazing! Talk about amazing film making and storytelling... classic Spielberg and JJ Abrams! Worth catching in theaters if you haven't yet.

 Watching the movie took me back to my childhood dreams of being a movie director...believe it or not, I originally applied to Biola to be a film major...crazy, but glad that didn't happen. Below is a movie I directed in high school which I remembered was still on youtube. Pretty amateur stuff...but, good times.

 "Marvel Boy" Directed by Aaron Kim; Written & Edited by Kyle Jones

(Desired) Summer/Semester Off Reading List

So...more news today that seems to suggest that I might be in LA a little longer than expected...still, it comforts me to know its out of my control :)

Finding not much to do, I decided to head to the Biola library where Alumni can utilize it for free :) (after $100k+ of tuition paid). I know, its sad that I'm back so soon, but its free compared to the local Starbucks.

Sitting in the library, I remembered how I always used school as an excuse for not getting some personal reading and studying done. Now that I have no excuse and all the time, I figured it was a good time to get started. Its amazing how difficult it is to get quiet and alone these days. Even when your physically alone, your really not...with facebook, skype, smart phones, and such. As hypocritical as I may sound, I actually feel that reading and getting alone is a lost art. People today, including me, seem so distracted and antsy. Everyone seems to think they have ADD...which may just be a case of where our culture is headed.

Anyways, below are a list of books that I would really like to get through during my semester off. I'm writing this post with the hope that my aspirations might somehow motivate some of you to get some personal reading and studying done this summer (if you even got this far in my post...lol).

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

(Classic)

 

Religious Affections by Johnathan Edwards

(Classic)

Life's Biggest Questions: What the Bible Says about the Things That Matter Most by Erik Thoennes

(Seems very practical and one of my favorite profs at Biola)

The Irresistible Church by Wayne Cordeiro 

(Pastor of my home church in Hawaii)

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan

(Seems interesting and relevant...a response to Rob Bell's book Love Wins)

There are more I would love to read, but I think this is enough to start with :/
I'll be posting things that I feel are really really awesome...so keep checking back.

Missing Home

When will I see you again? Its been over a month since graduation and I had expected to be home in Hawaii by now. Its funny how things don't always go as planned. I can't wait to see my family and friends, eat the local food, and enjoy all that the islands have to offer. BUT, I know from experience that God's timing is the best timing. Sometimes I like not having control because that means I can be fully confident in God's control. A hui hou, until we meet again...