Now I lay me down to sleep. . .

I've been thinking a lot about my prayer life lately. This quote had been on my mind lately.

"The purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God equally present all the time in every condition."
~Oswald Chambers

Sometimes, it seems like we look at prayer as a service we do for God. Like those prayers we prayed before bed when we were little, "Now I lay me down to sleep. . ." that we said because we knew praying before bed was what "good people" did. Though most of have advanced beyond prayers that rhyme, it doesn't exempt us from the "Check-off-the-prayer-box" attitude.
I've noticed in my life that I've taken prayer way too lightly. Prayer isn't a service we do for God. Prayer is for US! Prayer is a privilege God had given to us for our benefit. God knows what I'm going to say before I'm going to say it. But the act of me being able to talk to God reassures me that He's alive, involved, and cares about what is going on in my life. When I go to God with all my problems, worries, and insecurities, I'm acknowledging His presence in my life. I'm acknowledging the fact that He is powerful enough to take care of my every need. That's why prayer can bring unshakable peace, and stability that reaches beyond your circumstances.
I've noticed that those, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." prayer are not the kind that bring reassurance, peace, or stability.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
~ 2 Peter 5:6-7

When I pray with this attitude, I'm encouraged, and reassured. When I go to God with a specific issue that's bothering me and say, "God, help me with this, I can't handle it on my own." When I give up control of that situation and surrender it to God for Him to do what He wants with it. Those are the prayer that bring me stability and peace.
Developing a strong prayer life isn't easy, and I'm in no way claiming I've got it down. (As you can see, since this truth is just now dawning on me.) But I'm excited and thankful God is patient enough to continue to teach me these things, so I thought I'd share them.

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It's Contagious!

Before I tell you about my personal experience let me explain to you a little about what this camp is like. The WILD's opens it's gates to roughly 1,000 teens a week from all across the country. The campers get the opportunity to sit in three sermons/sessions a day. (Believe me it's not boring! Why? Because it's the WILD's.) They also get the chance to talk to not only their counselor, but all the other camp staff, about whatever they may be dealing with, all throughout the week. On top of this you get to meet and connect with countless Christian young people from anywhere in the U.S. Not to mention participate in some insanely awesome games, hikes, and all sorts of other activities, all in the stunning North Carolina mountains. It's definitely not the average summer camp experience. But before I tell you about what I learned at camp this year, let me tell you a little about what I seen. Every person on the camp staff; from the speakers and coordinators, to the counsellors and team leaders, all the way down to the waitresses and lawn guys,they all have a certain vibe. At first it's hard to put your finger on. They all seem, happy. Not all gushy or fake, I mean that underlying happiness that allows them to deal with all the frustrating things they have to put up with, with a good attitude. Their content. It's crazy to see so many people with this attitude all in the same spot serving together. It creates an extremely challenging atmosphere for the campers. Especially this year, I found myself looking at the staff and thinking, "That's where I want to be in a year or so." What's so amazing is that this vibe that the staff has, isn't a big mystery, it something you know you can have too. It comes from being close to God, and completely yielded to Him. It's the evidence of Christ working in their lives. And if you're open enough the spirit of the WILD'S becomes contagious, as you're encouraged to give your Savior everything you have. This place is truly one-of-a-kind.

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