Prayers and Automaticity!

 If anyone turns a deaf ear to My instruction, even their prayers are detestable.  Proverbs 28:9 NIV Bible

When I was an teacher, they told us that we needed to teach our students to the point of Automaticity. That's so when a student sees the math problem 6 x 8, they automatically know the answer is 48, without asking themselves, what is 6 x 8? They don't have to stop and get a mental picture of 6 groups of 8, or calculate it on a piece of paper, they just know it automatically from all their practice with their math facts.

So, although automaticity may be great with math facts or learning the capitals of all the states, it's not always so great with prayers, at least, for me. Sure, it's helpful to know  how to say the Lord's Prayer, by heart, but it's not always conducive to saying a sincere prayer!

I have rambled through the Lord's Prayer, and wasn't even sure of which parts I had already said and which parts still needed to be said. That only happens, when I'm not totally focused on the words I'm sharing with the Lord. I may be thinking of what I needed to buy at the store for tonight's dinner. The thing is, Jesus Christ thought enough about each and everyone of us, to give His life as a ransom for our sins. I need to be much more mindful of my prayers to Him, and not rely on automaticity to speed me through my prayers! I am so sorry Lord!!!!

They are Fooling Themselves, but Who Am I Fooling?

 And he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin that we have so foolishly committed." Numbers 12:11

Although this post doesn't really have to do with this passage, I sure do commit more than my share of foolish sins! Sometimes I inadvertently say or do things that hurt another person's feeling, without even meaning to. 

Sometimes, these people may be fooling themselves, and are only open to comments from others, who agree with their perspective. Sometimes, I think I'm helping others by sharing my experiences, but who am I fooling? 

Whether it's food, nutrition, child rearing, etc., it's all to easy for me to blurt out my opinion on a situation, feeling I'm being helpful, without even thinking about how my comments may make me sound like an expert on a topic. Doing so, may put others with different opinions, in an awkward position.  Although the person in this verse was asking Moses not to hold those sins against them, I need to remind myself to always ask the Lord God to forgive my foolish sins.

Those Who Try to Undermine Us

They were trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get to weak for the work and it won't be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9 NIV Bible

There have been times over the many years of a Christian Overeater Past and Present, that some people try to undermine my efforts. I'm not sure it's always deliberately, but possibly it is, at times. But really, it's not their intentions that matter, it's what we do when they try to talk us into doing things that aren't in our best interest!

There are the times when some I care about say, "It will be O.K. if you have an ice cream," after I've told them that it messes with my blood sugar and I often get what I call the: 'Cranky Crabbies' the next day when my blood sugar drops.

I wish I could say that I always pray and ask for the Lord God's help, like Nehemiah did when people were trying to undermine the Israelite's work rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, but when I do pray, the Lord God gives me the strength needed to withstand that temptation!

Fat Chance!

I have seen something else under the sun. The race [won] is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong. Nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant, or fave to the learned. But time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV Bible

Well, for many years  I thought I'd have a "Fat Chance" of ever losing all my weight, but I was most definitely wrong! The Lord God had another idea in mind! He didn't allow the weight loss of over 80 pounds, until I had learned that food and the thought of having a thinner body had become a false god to me. I was turning to food for comfort all those years in times of stress, etc. instead of putting these issues in Jesus Christ's capable hands. Once I learned this, my whole life, my food, and my eating changed.

When I turned to Jesus with my problems, I no longer had the feeling like I wanted to eat the doorknobs off. That's what I call the feeling when I had a gnawing feeling within my stomach and thought I was sick, or it was upset.  I would get something soothing to eat like pudding or ice cream. When, I still had that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, I would find something else to eat, but that never solved it, because I was turning to food for comfort instead of turning to the Lord God.

By the time I tried to rectify my gnawing feeling, I REALLY was sick to my stomach by then, and nauseated to boot! When I turn to the Lord with my concerns, joys, worries, etc., I no longer have that gnawing filling in the pit of my stomach that can't be satisfied. Of course, since I'm human, there are times where I start slip-sliding into old patterns, but fortunately, the Lord shows me what's happening, so I can turn even that over into His All Capable Hands, as well!