I’m sure it’s true what they say about men.  They won’t ask for directions (I’m not lost), and they won’t ask for help (I’ve got this).  Are men worse than women in both categories, or just the directions part?  I think at some point or another we all tend to not want to ask for information, directions or assistance. Is that a pride thing?

It could be that we’re embarrassed to have the other person find out that we don’t know the answer. And we don’t want someone else to appear more skilled at anything than ourselves.  Of course there are those who will constantly ask for help to either get out of doing it themselves, or they’re too lazy to want to learn how to do it.

But isn’t asking for help, in a way, blessing the helper?  Haven’t you ever felt good after helping someone with a problem?  I admit, though, that there a few who have a sort of smugness about them when they realize that you are indebted to them, so to speak.  But that’s no reason to refuse to ask for any help.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would help you. (John 14:16)  Now, while He represents the mind of God, I doubt if He gets involved in helping you with that plumbing problem, or show you how to get to Poughkeepsie.  What He will help you with is how to sort out the meaning of life.  His office is open 24/7 for counseling, encouragement, comfort and even warning.

Can the Holy Spirit help you with your pride, which prompts you to shun help?  Have you asked?  Praying out loud is optional.

I heard a radio preacher the other day, using an acronym to help us to remember how to pray.  He listed the basic elements of prayer as:

A – Adoration, recognizing who God is

C – Confession, setting things right with God about your life

T – Thanksgiving, acknowledging what God has given to you and done for you

S – Supplication, asking for what you need or want

But do we really need mnemonics to help us remember how to pray?  Do we even need prayer lists?  If it isn’t already on our minds, then is it important enough to pray about?

Sometimes I feel like I need to confess before I can truly adore God.  So, maybe it should be C.A.T.S..

Lord knows I’ve tried.  Well, maybe not as much as I would like him to think.  But I have tried.  I’m great at flash prayers, like “help me” and “thank you.”  I do them daily.  But the sit-down-with-the-Master-and-have-a-nice-conversation prayers, not so good at.

I have prayed for people in my family, starting with my wife, followed by my children (oldest first), then their spouses and my grandchildren, moving through the branches of the family tree.  Didn’t get very far. So I would go over the events of the previous day (in reverse order) and give thanks for (or petition for) the characters or events I had encountered.  Got sleepy.

Praying at bedtime, however, is not so bad.  Then when you get sleepy, which is soon, you’re right where you need to be.  It doesn’t work so well if you’re kneeling by your bed (tried that a few times too).  But it beats counting sheep.

I even attempted to use the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) as a rough outline for inserting my own experiences in daily life.  Nada.

I feel bad.  I really, really believe in God.  And when things go wrong, I can pray like there’s no tomorrow.  But I was taught that a daily dialogue with the Almighty is essential to my Christian development.  Was I taught wrong?

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You’ve seen them. The colorful designs and snappy titles on the inspirational book rack as you move through the store. The offer of blessings and help with every area of your life. Specific formulas on how to manipulate the Kingdom of Heaven to give you maximum benefit.

I like to browse, but I didn’t have the time to check this one out. The title, however, set off some rapid-fire questions in my mind. Why would we put a time restriction on God? The title itself was an imperative, demanding something from the Almighty. (Perhaps adding the word “please” would have given it a touch of humility.) Do we really need a formula for praying?

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