Too Full of Me and Too Empty of God

"Lord, take my tired and anxious heart and revive, refresh, and renew it."

Sometimes I wonder why we pray such audacious things.  The above prayer looks like a demand or a command and not a request of someone who has already given us more than we ever will need. Sometimes it's all I can breathe out.  But what will I get if I add in the "proper attitude"….

Lord God, Sovereign King of the Universe, who has given me everything that I need for life and godliness, I ask you to help me to realize the truth of your life in me.  Honestly my heart is tired and anxious and the reality of the life You have given me isn’t something I can feel right now.  Please give me glimpses of the truth of all the true life that you provided for me by your death.  King of all, I ask that you would help my weak mind and flesh to hold again the wonder of your love and be renewed by it rather than pulled down by all the lies that I believe and the lies that are around me.  Please forgive my weakness and the sin of forgetting all You sacrificed for me to have all I have.

…Well, when I started typing I expected that if I added in the "proper attitude," that the result would sound way churchy and not real or authentic.   But that’s not really what I got.  My prayers are too empty of God and too full of me.

I suppose most of my life is like that.  Too full of me and empty of God.  I like to say that my whole life is wrapped up in God and I truly believe this.  I would die otherwise.  But I also know that this mind and heart forget way too much.  And I know that I get distracted all the time…distracted from the truth, from my purpose, from my values.  Sometimes I want blinders on so that I can keep focused just on the next step.  So all the other good or bad things won’t keep me from what I purpose.  And then sometimes I get my focus on the wrong things altogether and I put the blinders on then and can’t get back to what I should be doing. 

Lord help me to find my way.  Again.