Relationship 101

I wrote a little bit about it but a few weeks ago my pastor challenged us to make Jesus the centre of everything we do. I thought long and hard about that and how to implement that in my Sunday School class. How do I make Jesus the centre of our class time and how do I encourage the children to have personal relationships with Christ?
As it happened, it was Easter Sunday and God led me to talk about Gethsemane and Jesus' heavy prayer before enduring the cross. I thought about prayer and it occurred to me that one of the biggest difference in my relationship with Jesus came when I made prayer a continual part of my day.

Here is how that happened:
I was born to saved, church going parents and grew up in church. Both my parents love the bible and it's something they instilled in their children. Knowing the bible, however, is not indicative of a relationship with God.
Before I really got to know God I had a very ridged relationship with Him. I literally looked at Him like He was some sort of Santa Claus figure doling out good to believers who obeyed and actively chastising believers who rebelled. I would pray but I had created some rules in my mind so that God would 'hear me'. I confessed my sins by saying 'please forgive me for all my sins', then I'd say what needed to be said, rattled off 'in Jesus name, amen', not knowing what on earth anything was about.
One day a church friend lent me a novel by a christian writer. It was about a saved girl and some things she went through. I think it was part of a series. Clearly I don't remember much about the book but the novel was written in the first person and every so often she would just pray in her mind. She would address God, make a request or give thanks or whatever she wanted to say, and that was all. See, I always thought I had to say 'amen' or the prayer wasn't complete and God wouldn't take it seriously. I was 10 (all this occurred when I was 10).
She basically had a continual conversation with the Lord throughout the day.
I remember being very fascinated by it, wanting that, and starting on that right away. Needless to say, my relationship with God grew after that.
If you have open communication with God all day every day, you are much more aware that He is watching what you do and that He knows what you are thinking. My pastor always says to keep short accounts with God and it's a lot easier to do when you're constantly going to Him and recognizing you need to be right with Him to communicate properly.
I hope this is making sense. It's hard for me to explain. When you talk to God a lot and you keep that line open there's a lot He shows you. It's really neat.

So something I'm trying to impart to the young ones I teach every Sunday is to continually talk to God. Instead of always asking for prayer requests I mix it up and ask if any one has answered prayers. They're all little prayers that have been answered but those little, every day proofs that God cares about the smallest details of their lives are the building blocks they need to grow their relationship with God.
The other thing these discussions have done is given me a little insight into the children's view of God. In other words- do they really believe in Him or is He just something they learn about at church?

One preacher said, 'the closer you get to God the more your faith is as a little child's'. He went on to explain that like little children know they need their parents to provide everything, those that are close to God realize that absolutely everything they need-including strength for every day- comes from Him. That is what your prayer life reveals- it reveals what sort of faith you have in Him. If he really is 'Lord of all' in your life, that is how you will communicate with Him and you will conduct your life accordingly.
It is amazing the difference a little Holy Spirit discernment will do in your life. Not only do you make right, wise, and good decisions but you're able to be a bigger blessing. If you're constantly questioning if something is right to do in God's eyes rather than your own, you'll avoid a lot of messes.

A few months ago we covered prayer in a discipleship series we're going through on Wednesdays. Listed below are a few things my pastor said that I found really thought provoking.

-There is no problem that isn't a prayer problem

-God will either answer the prayer or change the request
-Nothing reveals a person's spiritual life like their passion for prayer
-Prayer reveals who the believer really is
-Prayer is a backstage part of life that makes a huge difference on stage
-Praying and having a prayer life are two different things
-Your prayer life either magnifies problems or magnifies God
-Your prayer life reveals who you think God is

I hope this was an encouragement, a help, or just a blessing to you!