STEWARDSHIP FOUR - Building your spiritual muscle.

One of the most important habits we have as Christians is the habit of daily prayer. It is how we connect with God – it is how we ask for God’s intercession or his healing or his love – and how we offer our love to God.

When we pray to God we strengthen our relationship with God by practicing an ancient communication means with our creator. Why is that important?

The important people in my life are those with whom I have developed a bond through regular communication – people I see or talk to on a regular basis.  We develop an understanding and rapport through which a bond of trust and connection may occur. When I need support or guidance, these are the people I seek out because I have done the heavy lifting to build a relationship which will provide that bond. If I do not do the work to build this relationship, the support and guidance is not forthcoming.

The same can be said of God. Without regular attention to our relationship, God can feel distant, cold, and aloof. Without nurturing this relationship, it is not as vibrant and vivid as one that received regular attention through my prayers and supplications.

Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of other parishioners. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life", in which one is in constant communication with God. (Pray without ceasing).  But the reality of our time is that many people have lost the habit of prayer and many find Sunday worship dull and church activities self-serving.

Why is this so? What is happening to our religious commitment? It may be too time consuming. It may be that religious extremism and fundamentalism have turned many away from God. We need to ask if we have allowed our image of God to be twisted by others who wish to destroy our faith and trust in the Lord, or if our spiritual health is endangered because we have allowed religious corruption to cloud our religious beliefs?

Allow yourself to turn to daily prayer and build your spiritual muscle through regular communication with God.