Bunnies and Butterflies... and an ugly, nasty plague

I'm super tired but I did want to post a little about today. First I want to say that the interesting thing that happened today was that I found the telephone under the sink in my bathroom..... wonder who put it there??

Today I was reading in my Breaking Free book (Beth Moore) and the whole chapter was on prayerlessness. It's tying God's peace w/ prayer. I mean how can you have peace without prayer? Probably my most favorite scripture (and one that I recite often) is Phil. 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guards your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
How often do we do everything but pray? I am so guilty of this. I will be thinking of a friend who desperately needs Jesus. I'll be thinking of that person's life and how it needs to change.. 'they' should do this and 'they' should do that... and then the Holy Spirit will say... 'Um... have you thought about praying for them??' I mean, hello!! And in another instance... when we have a problem and we're eager to read scripture, talk to godly people for advice, go to church.. none of which is bad... but if we haven't prayed, what good is it all?
Life is a big deal... there's some bad stuff out there... After all we aren't promised a perfect, elaborate life filled with bunnies and butterflies (as some out there seem to preach). There WILL be trials and tribulations... if anything that is promised (1 Peter 1:6; James 1:2)! But God has also promised us His peace.
How do we get that peace? We will gain our strength through Him, the one we walk and talk continually with.
Prayer takes discipline.. it's hard work. And I'm talking about prayer with substance.. no "God is great, God is good" kind of thing (by the way... R and I have decided NOT to teach our child(ren) those prayers. I'd rather them use their own words.... but that's another blog...) One of the hardest things for me to do is to pray and not loose my train of thought. I often pray out loud when I'm doing my main prayer time... Luke is asleep, R is at work so I can pray out loud. It helps me stay focused. My prayer life is a constant work in progress... there is so much work to be done!
One important thing about prayer and then I'm off to bed. If you've never been soundly saved and had a life changing experience with Christ then the only prayer you can pray is one of repentance... A cry out to the Father for salvation and forgiveness... A lost person can't even pray for their children if they were to be hurt... their parents if they were to get cancer... their spouse if they were to lose their job. They may attempt to pray... but God doesn't hear their prayers. Sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 says 'Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.' Sadly, most people think they are ok though.... because good people go to heaven, right? Wrong... Matthew 19:17 says 'No one is good but One, that is, God..' We can't measure up to a perfect Holy God... we never will. His standard is perfection and we are FAR from it. Ugly, nasty sin plagues us all. But praise God for the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He bore the sins of the world... the perfect, spotless Son of God bore my sins.... I will never get over that..