Cynthia's Story

I have been guilty of praying the same old “God help me with this and please take care of my family and kids. I know your there and listening, but would you mind giving me a raise? Can you even help to get me that newer model car I saw recently on the street that day! You know which one, you’re God, that had to have been you!

I have prayed like this for years. I didn’t understand how truly unprovoking to God this really was until I came to a place in my life where I didn’t want to be treated like a ATM machine by anyone.

I began noticing that sometimes my kids would come to me or call with requests of, Can you get this because….. I like it? In my motherly moments didn’t think too much of it until it began to kinda annoy me.

I started feeling like I wasn’t valued just for who I was to them. You know, we can all feel this way by the people that surround us daily like our kids, and spouse. They see us everyday, and get used to the fact that we take care of all the little things that keep them going, and keep them afloat.

Like packing school lunches, making sure they’re clothes are ironed and pressed so they can look well put together as they go about their lives. We have forgotten how that Lord does these things for us too. We always have a plan in case they forget something, and we are always around to help tend to them when a scraped knee occurs, or even a hard day at work.

One day I was sitting in prayer, and decided to tell God, I am listening. I am not going to ask you for anything but I am here to just listen. I guess I had finally gotten fed up with the way things were turning out in my life, and desperatlely wanted to hear from God who I know sees everything and all the injustices that happen to us.

To my astonishment I began to see in my mind all the times I felt like the world had neglected my feelings. My thoughts about what I simply thought about anything. Almost like I felt a little tug in my chest that I guess I only matter for certain reasons. Then, I head the voice of the Lord say, this is exactly how you approach me.

I felt then, a certain conversation begin to take place, and not only did I tell the Lord how sorry I was for not paying attention to him , but also how I took him for granted because I knew he had always walked with me along my journey in this life, I also began to weep. It had been the first time I understood just how big it means to God that we approach him correctly. He is not a vending machine, a ATM, just a standby Angel. He is not a genie in your life that is meant to be there for when you really need him to get you out of some of those sticky situations. He really gets annoyed when we pray those boring things, though we mean them when we ask for his help, he wants a dialog. He wants to be praised and Glorified for when he shows up and shows off in our lives with his grand blessings, and more than this, is to have faith in him, to believe in him, to love him with everything. Even in our minds. He does want to give us good gifts, but he wants a relationship that is solid.

Since then, my prayers are much more detailed. They don’t begin when I am still sleeping cozy in my bed, because I know I will default to those same old boring prayers. I wait till I am at my most alert, vibrant self, and that is when I shut everything off to just simply listen and tell him how much I love him. How much he means to me, and that I am blessed because of who he is. HE IS THE EVERLASTING God who is there for us in the same way that we keep our loved ones afloat and take care of all the things that they don’t see. I am reminded still when my family comes to me for requests, that God wants to be valued, honored, praised, for who he is, and not just for what he does for us.

I am devoted to making sure that I give to God not just for what he requires, but a little something extra now, My Genuine heart and Prayers.