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Prayer Without an Agenda

2/24/2012

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Have you ever spent time praying without ever asking God to “do” anything? For me, I find that much of my prayer time is spent telling God what I need, what others need, and asking him to take action. I don’t often spend time appreciating him and listening.

Now, I’m not implying that it is bad to tell God your needs, wants and desires. I’m simply saying that there is benefit in praying without an agenda. I was speaking with a great friend and he told me that, recently, he spent 20 minutes in prayer expressing his deep love for God. My first thought when I heard this was, “20 minutes??? Really? That is a lot of time to say, ‘I love you.’” However, as I listened to him talk about the experience, I found myself desperately wanting to do the same. It wasn’t about the amount of time. It was about fully expressing his love to Jesus.

As I “tried” this for the first time, I was overwhelmed with the incredible glory of God. I do not say this in a religious sense. I say this as if speaking of a treasured lover. Marvelously, my experience was that God was quick to draw me close and return this expression of my love 10-fold. I felt deeply loved and wanted. Yes, I felt like God really wanted to be near me.

I must admit that I had to stop myself several times from making requests of God. Each time I refrained and focused on just loving God, I felt drawn even closer by God. In the end, I left that prayer time refreshed, energized and exceedingly happy. It was a beautiful experience and I am grateful that God challenged me in this way through the experience of another.

So, I challenge you. Set aside some time and simply approach Jesus and tell him how much you love him. Then, submit a comment and tell me about your experience.

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    Ben's deepest passion is to help people find life and hope through a deeply intimate relationship with God. He is committed to helping men lead their families, churches, businesses and communities. He is a pastor, certified Balanced Scorecard Master Professional, and has an advanced certification in Christian life coaching. He uses his skills associated with strategic planning/execution, continuous quality improvement and life coaching to provide hope to at-risk juveniles and their families. By helping them change their life course by making better choices, the church thrives! Be also provides executive coaching, individual mentoring/ discipleship, and retreat facilitation. As a former United States Marine, Ben is passionate about helping current service members, veterans, at-risk youth, and ministry leaders experience the abundant life available only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Ben understands the many demands associated with balancing faith, family and career.

    Ben is married to his beautify wife, Sandy, and is the father of three children, ages 17, 14 and 8. He enjoys jogging, skiing, camping, and other family activities. He serves as
    the President and ministry leader for Encounter Jesus Inc.

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