Consistency and Prayer - episode 102
Ok, so today we had some major technical difficulties as the recording between Enitan, who is in a rural village in Nigeria with limited internet access, and me in California. You will note some delays. We did our best to navigate them and press on. I found his persistence in getting back on the call close to a dozen times evidence of all he shared during our conversation. Consistency. Putting in your best.
Having been on the show before in Capturing Life through a Lens episode 76, Enitan and I have become friends. I will say that is one of the great things about social media. Meeting new people and making a real connection. He asked if he could come back on the show and of course I said yes. Since we are in the Believe series I got to find out what he believes and how that shows up in his life. Inspiring? Yes.
Intentional. Jovial. Creative.
— Enitan Balogun
Do You Pray?
Thoughts from Consistency and Prayer
Since Enitan mentioned prayer I thought I’d share some thoughts about it. Of course this is my opinion as I can’t speak for anyone else most especially God. I think God likes it when we pray as it is a way to stay connected and to recognize who he is in relationship to who I am. (I don’t feel lowly but I know I am not him.) It’d be like any other bond you have with another, you need to put into it. When you put into it, you end up getting something out of it but that is not typically why you do it in the first place.
Some call this time meditation or being still or fill in the blank. I don’t think the particular way is the point. You may not even believe in God, higher power, universe. That’s part of this life, getting to choose. I honor that not everyone does it as I do or believes as I do. And quite frankly I don’t do it all that well anyway. It’s an area I would like to devote more time to. (I started to write get better at but that took me down a not good enough rabbit hole so forget that.) If I’m being transparent, and I am, I find myself far too often in self-sufficiency mode. For me that notion is a fallacy because if I pan out I am very much aware God is a part of my life. He is the beginning and the end for me.
When it comes to prayer then, I have a couple of devotions I use. One in the morning and a different one for night. I like to chat with God (albeit briefly) as I do my morning stretches. Then night time is the you version Bible app which includes the verse for the day. It includes a short message, a reflection and a prayer. What I’d like to do is weave some prayer, or talking to God, throughout the day. To take a moment or longer to remember who he is, why he loves me, and why I love him.
Do I think prayer makes a difference? Yes, I do. Do I know how? Not really. To me it is a mystery. Isn’t God going to do what God’s going to do? Does it sway him one way or the other if we pray? Does he change his mind? Honestly I have no concrete answer to these questions. I don’t know. As I’ve mentioned previously, I like to ponder and I do ponder these things from time to time. I do know that if I pray it makes me feel better to invite God into the situation. I also like to thank him for moving and working in this particular thing the way that he is. Then I get to release it. Oh the joy and peace in that!
At some point in my earlier adult years I heard about this concept of tracking the “answers” to prayers. I journaled what I saw happening and I was astounded. There were changes, there was movement, there was fulfillment. (Sometimes the answer was no or wait.) Was God working? Had he heard me? I will say yes. That is what I believe. That is why I pray. It makes a difference for me. I like to think God smiles on me when I do.
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
— Mahatma Gandhi
