What I want you to do

"DPAW! whispered the clergy spouse. This was code for 'Don't pray around the world, and short for 'do not let this hot meal get cold."  (from Jan Karon's Come Rain or Come Shine)
No doubt I may have been guilty of this once in awhile. There always seems to be so much to cover when I pray. This may be prideful to think that my feeble prayer is going to make a difference yet I do believe our prayers do make a difference though I don't always know how. Jesus did say we ought always to pray and not lose heart.

From the book Sensible Shoes - A Story About The Spiritual Journey there is the following quote, teaching, insight, which I found helpful or challenging. (this is a paraphrase of it)

"In the early centuries of the church, many spiritual communities developed 'rules of life,' which helped structure individual and corporate life around Christ as the center. A rule or rhythm of life is an intentional structure designed to free us to respond to the movement of the Spirit of God. It helps us grow in the right direction as we orient out lives toward Christ. A rule is not focused on efforts to fix and control our lives. It focuses on deepening intimacy with God, not the improvement of self. It must not become another burden or yolk. A rule of life is meant to breathe not be a rigid list of duties or obligations. It needs to reflect who we are becoming in Christ at this moment in time. As you begin to pray about developing a rule of life, here are some questions to ask:
What regular practices help me to receive, remain in, and respond to the love of God? What brings me life and helps me stay close to God? What practices help me deepen relationships and love others? What habits and patterns of sin impede my growth and formation in Christ? What regular practices can address these patterns and help me to cooperate with the grace of God?

SO HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO, GOD HELPING YOU:

Take your everyday, ordinary life -- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life -- and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what God wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message version)

From Charles Spurgeon: "Learn to be content with the divine order. Be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the Lord's hand as well as good." [You may need to read that one a couple times."
"Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises and for the gloom of evening as it falls. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine gloriously in the darkness of grief. Continue your service through it all. Work in the day and watch in the night. Every hour has its duty, so continue in your calling as the Lord's servant until he suddenly appears in glory."

Remember always God is with you and cares for you. All things must work together for our salvation as the beloved Heidelberg Catechism puts it.