Rising with Jesus

Book excerpt: Prayer is a heart to heart talk with God. So often, our prayers share what's on our hearts, but that doesn't mean they are what God wants to hear. In a mutual relationship, we all want to be heard as much as we want to hear. I firmly believe that God wants to hear us pray about the things that are important to him as much as we pray about what's important to us. Take a look at the Lord's Prayer. When Jesus taught us to pray, it was all about what God wants, not what we want. For me the "Daily Prayer" has become a way to make sure I'm listening to God as much as I'm asking him to listen to me. Instead of only telling God what's on my fallen heart, I seek to be renewed by his word first. That's why every daily prayer begins with a passage from God's word. God speaks to me in the passage and I speak to him about what he said. This way I remember to pray back to him my desires to live out his word in my life. I show him that I'm listening and I want to please him. Praying this way has elevated my prayer life above the usual laundry list of "I want" or "I need." I hope this one-year collection will do the same for you. I want to give you thoughts to share with God that are pleasing to both of you. Spend a few months using my prayers and you will find your own "give and take" with God over his word. No matter how you end up using this book of prayers, may they become a blessing to your daily walk with God. He loves you beyond comprehension and has good plans for you that you cannot yet imagine. Donald grew up in Garland, Texas. He and his wife Mary have four sons and three grandsons. Donald is a senior pastor in Austin, Texas, where he has served since 1992. In addition to his pastoral duties, Donald serves the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) as president of the South-Central district. He has spoken at numerous marriage retreats, men's and women's retreats, leadership conferences and seminars. You can find more writing by Don in Forward in Christ, Meditations, Lutheran Parenting, and Lutheran Leadership. He also wrote a bible basics book Finding Tools to Read and Interpret Scripture.