I started stretching a while back. I would be the first to tell you, it was ugly. I was nowhere near hitting the mark the demonstration video laid out. I began this endeavor because I made it a goal to be able to touch my toes. This seemed like a simple task when I first made it, but I never realized how stiff my body was.<\/p>\n
It hurt when I first started stretching. I was uncomfortable and I wasn\u2019t completely confident I was doing it right. I wanted to quit so many times. Yet, each time I wanted to release and quit stretching, the voice on the video would tell me: \u201cFollow the model as best you can, keep good form, don\u2019t worry what you look like and just keep stretching.\u201d I can\u2019t quit because I really want to touch my toes before I\u2019m 30!<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how I feel about my prayer life; it\u2019s uncomfortable. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m saying the right words. Is this how it’s supposed to look? Praying takes spiritual muscles. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, you don\u2019t have to be a super Christian to pray, but the more you stretch those muscles, the more natural your prayer life becomes.<\/p>\n
Paul reminds us to keep stretching in Colossians 4:2, \u201cDevote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.\u201d Stay devoted to prayer\u2014stay devoted to stretching your spiritual muscles. When we stretch in prayer, we find we grow in other areas as well. Here are three areas where we will see growth.<\/p>\n
Growth in Steadfastness Remember, our goal in prayer is not to get what we want. Our goal in prayer is to be more like Christ by spending time with Him. He didn\u2019t come to just give you daily bread\u2014He is your daily bread.<\/p>\n Growth in Watchfulness Call me crazy, but I love redundant and mindless routines. Sometimes it\u2019s nice to not have to think. Yet, our routines tend to make us nonchalant and unobservant. If we are not careful, we can miss the details. Our mindless routines should turn into a steadfast system. While operating, we are also looking and anticipating the change God desires to bring about the day. A prayer life marked by watchfulness is one where the distractions of sleepiness, anxieties, and conflicts are replaced by attentiveness and focus.<\/p>\n Growth in Reliance \u201cWell, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,\u2019 said Digory. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus told His disciples, \u201cYour Father knows what you need before you ask Him.\u201d Then He went on to give them instructions on how to pray. I don\u2019t like asking for help or assistance. To me, it comes across as waving a white flag in surrender, or that I\u2019m weak and can\u2019t figure something out. The Bible flips that type of shame on its head and encourages you to boast in your weaknesses. Our weaknesses in prayer point us to the one who knows our needs and is interceding for us. God wants to hear from us. Though He may already know our need, He longs for us to talk with Him and make our request known.<\/p>\n When you don\u2019t see the growth and progress you desire and feel like you want to release and quit\u2014just keep stretching. You may not see it every day, but when we stretch in prayer, we grow in steadfastness, watchfulness, and reliance on God. We may not be where we want to be yet, but that\u2019s okay. Just keep stretching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":5161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[940,979,1143,1122,1144],"class_list":{"0":"post-5160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-discipleship-ministries","8":"category-general","9":"tag-940","10":"tag-cody-phillips","11":"tag-growth","12":"tag-steadfast-in-prayer","13":"tag-stretching","14":"entry"},"title_es":"Aprovecha al m\u00e1ximo tu vida de oraci\u00f3n","content_es":"Comenc\u00e9 a estirar hace un tiempo. Ser\u00eda el primero en dec\u00edrtelo, fue feo. No estaba ni cerca de llegar a la marca del video de demostraci\u00f3n presentado. Comenc\u00e9 este esfuerzo porque me propuse poder tocar mis dedos de los pies. Parec\u00eda una tarea simple cuando lo hice por primera vez, pero nunca me di cuenta de lo r\u00edgido que estaba mi cuerpo. Me doli\u00f3 cuando empec\u00e9 a estirarme. Estaba inc\u00f3modo y no estaba completamente seguro de que lo estaba haciendo bien. Quer\u00eda renunciar tantas veces. Sin embargo, cada vez que quise soltar y dejar de estirar, la voz en el video me dir\u00eda: \"Sigue el modelo lo mejor que puedas, mantente en buena forma, no te preocupes de c\u00f3mo te ves y sigue estirando\". \u00a1No renuncie porque realmente quiero tocar mis dedos antes de cumplir los 30! As\u00ed es como me siento acerca de mi vida de oraci\u00f3n; es inc\u00f3modo. No s\u00e9 si estoy diciendo las palabras correctas. \u00bfEs as\u00ed como se supone que debe verse? La oraci\u00f3n toma m\u00fasculos espirituales. Ahora, no me malinterpretes, no tienes que ser un s\u00faper cristiano para orar, pero cuanto m\u00e1s estires esos m\u00fasculos, m\u00e1s natural se vuelve tu vida de oraci\u00f3n. Pablo nos recuerda que sigamos estir\u00e1ndonos en Colosenses 4: 2, \u201cded\u00edquense a la oraci\u00f3n, est\u00e9n atentos y agradecidos\u201d. Mant\u00e9nganse dedicados a la oraci\u00f3n, mant\u00e9nganse dedicados a estirar sus m\u00fasculos espirituales. Cuando nos estiramos en la oraci\u00f3n, encontramos que tambi\u00e9n crecemos en otras \u00e1reas. Aqu\u00ed hay tres \u00e1reas donde veremos crecimiento. Crecimiento en la firmeza<\/strong> Los atletas exitosos saben lo que significa perseguir un objetivo con seriedad. Practicando d\u00eda tras d\u00eda, semana tras semana, siguen adelante a pesar del clima y el cansancio. Manejan su tiempo y hacen de la pr\u00e1ctica diaria una prioridad. El entrenador principal de f\u00fatbol de Alabama, Nick Saban, es posiblemente el mejor entrenador universitario de f\u00fatbol de todos los tiempos. \u00c9l habla constantemente sobre amar el proceso tanto como el resultado. Es genial tener objetivos, pero para alcanzar esos objetivos, tenemos que concentrarnos en lo que se necesita para alcanzarlos. Recuerda, nuestro objetivo en la oraci\u00f3n no es conseguir lo que queremos. Nuestro objetivo en la oraci\u00f3n es ser m\u00e1s como Cristo al pasar tiempo con \u00e9l. \u00c9l no vino solo para darte el pan de cada d\u00eda, \u00c9l es tu pan de cada d\u00eda. Crecimiento en la vigilancia<\/strong> A lo largo de las Escrituras, vemos esta frase: \"Velad y orad\". \"Mirad y orad para que no entr\u00e9is en tentaci\u00f3n. El esp\u00edritu en verdad est\u00e1 dispuesto, pero la carne es d\u00e9bil \u201d(Marcos 14:38). Estos dos son sin\u00f3nimos y en conjunto unos con otros. Cuando nos separamos mirando y orando, perdemos de vista las cosas que Dios quiere mostrarnos a lo largo de nuestro d\u00eda. Ll\u00e1mame loco, pero me encantan las rutinas redundantes y sin sentido. A veces es bueno no tener que pensar. Sin embargo, nuestras rutinas tienden a hacernos indiferentes y no observadores. Si no tenemos cuidado, podemos perdernos los detalles. Nuestras rutinas sin sentido deber\u00edan convertirse en un sistema firme. Mientras operamos, tambi\u00e9n estamos mirando y anticipando el cambio que Dios desea lograr en el d\u00eda. Una vida de oraci\u00f3n marcada por la vigilancia es aquella en que las distracciones de la somnolencia, las ansiedades y los conflictos se reemplazan por la atenci\u00f3n y el enfoque. Crecimiento en confianza<\/strong> En la novela de CS Lewis, El sobrino del mago<\/em> , Aslan env\u00eda a Polly, Digory y su caballo, Fledge, a una importante b\u00fasqueda en la tierra de Narnia. Cuando cae la noche, los ni\u00f1os tienen hambre y se dan cuenta de que no tienen nada que comer. \"Bueno, creo que alguien podr\u00eda haber arreglado nuestras comidas\", dijo Digory. \"Estoy seguro de que Aslan lo habr\u00eda hecho, si le hubieras preguntado\", dijo Fledge, \"\u00bfNo lo sabr\u00eda sin que te lo pidieran?\" dijo Polly. \"No tengo ninguna duda de que lo har\u00eda\", dijo el caballo. \"Pero tengo una especie de idea que le gusta que le pregunten\". En Mateo 6: 8, Jes\u00fas le dijo a sus disc\u00edpulos: \"Tu padre sabe lo que necesitas antes de que le preguntes a \u00e9l\". Luego continu\u00f3 para darles instrucciones sobre c\u00f3mo a orar. No me gusta pedir ayuda o ayuda. Para m\u00ed, aparece como agitar una bandera blanca en se\u00f1al de rendici\u00f3n, o que soy d\u00e9bil y no puedo resolver algo. La Biblia le da vueltas a ese tipo de verg\u00fcenza y lo alienta a jactarse de sus debilidades. Nuestras debilidades en la oraci\u00f3n nos apuntan hacia quien conoce nuestras necesidades y est\u00e1 intercediendo por nosotros. Dios quiere escuchar de nosotros. Aunque puede que ya conozca nuestra necesidad, anhela que hablemos con \u00c9l y demos a conocer nuestra solicitud. Cuando no ve el crecimiento y el progreso que desea y siente que desea liberar y dejar de fumar, simplemente siga estirando. Puede que no lo veas todos los d\u00edas, pero cuando nos estiramos en oraci\u00f3n, crecemos en firmeza, vigilancia y confianza en Dios. Puede que a\u00fan no estemos donde queremos estar, pero eso est\u00e1 bien. S\u00f3lo sigue estirando.","author_name":"Cody Phillips","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/07\/DM-Q3.1-Article-Graphic-Phillips-e1564000136878.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1le","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>
\nSuccessful athletes know what it means to pursue a goal with earnestness. Practicing day after day, week after week, they press on despite weather and weariness. They manage their time and make daily practice a priority. Alabama Head Football Coach, Nick Saban, is arguably the greatest college football coach of all time. He constantly speaks on loving the process as much as the result. It\u2019s great to have goals, but to reach those goals, we have to put a supreme focus on what it takes to achieve them.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nThroughout the scriptures, we see this phrase: \u201cWatch and pray.\u201d
\n\u201cWatch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak\u201d (Mark 14:38).
\nThese two are synonymous and in tandem with each other. When we separate watching and praying, we miss out on the things God wants to show us throughout our day.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nIn C.S. Lewis\u2019s novel, The Magician\u2019s Nephew<\/em>, Aslan sends Polly, Digory, and their horse, Fledge, on an important quest across the land of Narnia. When night falls, the children grow hungry and realize they have nothing to eat.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018I\u2019m sure Aslan would have, if you\u2019d asked him,\u2019 said Fledge
\n\u2018Wouldn\u2019t he know without being asked?\u2019 said Polly.
\n\u2018I\u2019ve no doubt he would,\u2019 said the Horse. \u2018But I\u2019ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked.\u201d<\/p>\n