"Christopher Robin" Prayers;)

"It is an ongoing challenge to continue in the journey of prayer until we "get it," until we can even say that we've begun to know something about prayer and a little bit about how it is accomplished. And until that happens, a lot of us pray what I call "Christopher Robin" prayers. He's the little boy who struggled with his evening "Vespers." He became so distracted by anything and everything that he couldn't remember who or what to pray for. He ultimately ended up praying "God bless_________" prayers, filling in the blank with each of his family members' names. Can I ever relate to Christopher Robin's "prayer" experience (and maybe you can, too)!-excerpt from chapter one


For me, I don't think it's as much distraction as a lack of intelligent, thoughtful praying. Okay, maybe that is distraction! We're in such a hurry to get our prayers said, that we don't take the time to really think about what God wants to do in the life of our loved one or a situation.

Here's an example. Recently, I joined Gospel for Asia's Prayer Team. Yesterday, I received an email asking us to pray for those with leprosy. I could quickly pray, "Lord, please bless the lepers in Asia," or I could pray the following...


Pray the Lord will raise up more compassionate workers to love and care for these despised people.
Ask the Lord to physically heal the lepers.
Pray they will choose to follow the Savior.
Pray for God to provide opportunities for their children to go to school and get jobs once they graduate.
Pray for wisdom and the Lord's provision for the clinic workers.
Pray for them to understand the love of Jesus as GFA-supported workers explain it to them.


God isn't afraid of specifics.
~Sarah