Blue five. Blue five. Hut Hut

A challenge has been posed... go deeper this summer. Well Jonathan, I accept your challenge! Step one, learn to pray. Well, I'm almost 40 years old now, I think I know how to pray already. Ok Ok, so I haven't been the best Christian for all of those years. I may have missed church a few (hundred) times or so. I may have sinned a bit. Maybe I missed a few lessons.

So here we go, "Dear Lord, I need this, this, and this." What's that? You don't just get right down to it and ask?! Oh ok, it appears that there is more to this praying thing than I originally thought. Maybe a little praise is in order here.

"Dear Lord, Creator of All, I am so tiny in all of your glory. I am so small. Yet, you still hear and see me. Your power and truth is majestic. I am in awe of everything you create".

You see, it's important to praise God. It's important to give thanks to God. And there you have it... Prayer isn't just about what we need or want (God already knows that). Prayer is about worship, thanks, and love.

So, almost 40 years old and just now am I learning this. I'm finally learning what it really means to pray and how to do it. And you know what, it feels so much better! I've gone from only knowing how to ask in prayer to not asking at all. I know that isn't the point; I'm making up for lost time I guess.

I've spent the week simply giving praise and thanks in my prayers, asking for nothing. This wasn't really intentional it just happened that way. I have to admit, it felt good to just give praise. It felt better then asking for anything.

So, here I am, still learning and growing. Thank you Jonathan for teaching me something so simple it's amazing I haven't learned it before now. I'm truly amazed at how much more joyous praying has become for me.

I was struck by the thought of giving a quarterback the playbook but not teaching him how to receive the snap, hand the ball off, or pass. What good is the playbook if you don't know the basics first?! How do you run the Hail Mary if no one taught you how to throw the deep ball? And that's how I see church without knowing how to really pray.