My whole cabin of Middle and High School girls walked through the prayer labyrinth quietly. We were instructed to pray the phrase, “Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.” from Psalm 25.
I walked and walked quietly breathing the prayer in and out.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
Show me your ways. Teach me your paths.
The labyrinth was deceptively long and the more I walked and prayed, the more the prayer seemed to wrap up inside me. It felt like something was tying together inside me–not necessarily a happy feeling. More of an actual something-is-happening-inside-me type thing.
Once we all got to the middle, we stood together looking up at the sky, the trees and clouds. We listened to the birds, the lake and the other campers in the distance. We were then instructed to walk back out of the labyrinth while praising God however we wanted.
An old Waterdeep song from my college days popped into my head:
You are so good to me
You heal my broken heart
You are my Father in heaven
You ride upon the clouds
You lead me to the truth
You are the Spirit inside me
You poured out all your blood
You died upon the cross
You are my Jesus who loves me
You are beautiful my sweet, sweet, song
I will sing again
You are my strong melody
You are my dancing rhythm
You are my perfect rhyme
And I want to sing forever
It’s one of my favorite songs because it’s a perfect illustration of the Trinity–of Father, Son and Holy Spirit shown in the layers of a song. As I sang this song and walked through the labyrinth, I felt the tightness of walking into the labyrinth release. Just as a ball of yarn rolls away from you and continues to unwind, the tenseness in my spirit began to unravel.
I went from wound up, to unwound. From tight to loose. From a ball to flat.
There was something very impactful about using my whole body, soul and spirit to pray. We know this whole body-soul-spirit thing is important. Jesus commands us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. In another verse, He says, “heart, soul, mind and strength”.
The past year or so I’ve been really thinking about this whole body/spirit/soul connection. I think it’s a picture of how we are made in the image of the triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). And I think when we pray, worship and experience God with all of our being, we experience more of what He has for us.
I’m not saying we need to do a labyrinth or yoga or prayer postures to pray and experience God. What I am saying is that if we are throwing little prayers up while making dinner and picking up kids as if God is Alexa or Siri and not taking a big shuddering minute to recognize the majesty of God and privilege to speak to Him…well, I think we’re missing out. No, I don’t think we’re disappointing God or doing something wrong. I think we’re just missing out on something really amazingly cool.
Prayer is not just a Thing to do. It’s not grocery lists or vending machine conversations with God. It’s also not penance or drudgery. Prayer is like that hard-but-totally-amazing conversation you have with your spouse or best friend that brings you to a new level in relationship. It’s like the baring of your soul and finally telling the deepest of secrets.
Prayer is God, the creator of the universe actually listening to you—and yes, even responding. I believe God doesn’t respond to need but to prayer. I don’t know how or why or the secret 1, 2, 3’s of it, but I am so dependent on my communication with Him. If I didn’t have His Word coupled with prayer, I’d be completely lost, totally confused and without hope.
So, as one totally dependent on Him mama to another, here’s a few ways I make prayer more of an experience and less of a thing-to-do:
Pick a Psalm
Every day read 5 psalms with this easy method–if it’s the 15th of the month, read Psalm 15. Then add 30 to 15 and read Psalm 45. Then add 30 again and read Psalm 75. Then 30 more for Psalm 105. And one more time for Psalm 135. If you do this every day of the month, you’ll read the whole book of Psalms! It’s an easy way to always know what to read when you sit down with your Bible and it also gives you powerful promises and well-worn prayers to take for yourself. Start underlining as you read, you’ll have a new vocabulary to add to your prayers!
Pick a Prayer
I just mentioned “well-worn prayers”, it’s a phrase I made up for a blog post long ago because I have become convinced that prayers from the Bible are powerful. I already believe that praying God’s promises are important. There is something even more grounding, connecting and inspiring about praying prayers that men and women of faith have prayed through the ages. (I made a little bookmark of some of my fave prayers in the Bible. You can download it and begin praying them today! Just click the graphic below!)
Pick a Place
Lately, I’ve been praying on my bed when the sun is still shining over the covers in the morning. I don’t know why but those rays invigorate me. I feel connected to God through His creation and somehow like I got up early enough to see the sunrise! Find a place that inspires you or is at least quiet and comfortable.
Pick a Pal
(OK, I picked that for the P alliteration.) What I mean is, find a prayer warrior and follow their lead. I devour prayer books for this reason. You can see a few of my favorite choices here. I’m also really into For the Family by Sylvia Gunter (free on KindleUnlimited!!), Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian and looking forward to Praying for Girls by Terri Lynne Underwood.
And if you do stumble upon a prayer labyrinth, try it. Or simply walk around your neighborhood or your living room and pray. Use God’s Word to lead you in and then praise Him on the way out. See how he speaks to you. Then use that memory as you sit on your bed, in your closet or in your minivan to connect with Him again and again.
Oh Amanda ! I just want to thank you for your inspirational Easter basket idea! Seemingly as the world seems to spin out of control , I know how important it is to keep pouring CHRIST into our children in every possible way that we can! As a grandma now I want even more to protect and teach my sweet granddaughters all that Jesus would have for them to know. I’ve retired now so I have time to continue to work hard without children at church too! And I must say must say I am working very hard to prepare Inspirational baskets for the children in our family, at church, and in my granddaughters preschool class! I am loving every moment! Everything continues to point us back to Christ with every verse ! Because I taught kindergarten for so many years , I amm so use to making it all work together!!! THANK YOU!! I just hate I never had this idea for my own kids!