Keep Scrubbing The Grime
Happy Friday, everyone!
Alright, the last time I posted I spoke about prayer. At the end of that post I wrote, “I get the sense that this topic of prayer may extend for sometime, so I look forward to you all sticking around with me as we pray and push through together.”
Well, here we are again, on the topic of pushing through in prayer! A few years ago my mom told me, “Vanessa, if you want to grow in patience do the dishes or iron some clothes. They both help us grow in patience because it takes time to do them properly.” Fun fact about me, I absolutely detest ironing lol. I see ironing as an inconvenience. Another fun fact, doing the dishes is one of my favorite chores. I find doing the dishes calming and I even have a system for how I wash them 😂. I like to start with the plates, cups, utensils and finish with the larger items -the pots and pans. However, I don’t like having to scrub grime off pots for too long. It could be a texture-sensory issue or maybe because I lose my patience if the grime doesn’t come off fast enough or if it needs to be soaked overnight. I don’t like having dishes in the sink overnight because I don’t want to have to wake up to them. But, sometimes it’s best to have them soak overnight so they can be properly cleaned.
We live in a culture where we want everything fast! We want a quick response, a quick change of a difficult situation, etc. However, prayer makes us slow down. Prayer requires attention because prayer is one of the ways by which we hear His voice.
I was recently talking to someone and they told me they’re having a hard time praying. They feel like He’s not answering and it’s causing them to feel like they don’t want to pray anymore. Honestly, I’ve been there, probably more times than I’d like to admit. However, I do believe that the Holy Spirit is always speaking even when we don’t hear Him or think He is. He speaks to us through His Word, in prayer, through pain, in joyful experiences and so much more. He is always available and speaking because of the gift of Jesus Christ. Sometimes prayer will require more of us, the same way scrubbing the grime off certain dishes will or soaking them overnight. Not because if we pray harder or louder or more passionately it will cause Him to move faster, but because pushing in praying corrects the posture and attitudes of our own hearts! Pushing in prayer gets us right. It scrubs away the grime from inside of us. Yes, prayer is available so we can ask Him for what we want and need, but it’s so much more than that. It’s so we can be with Him 💛. It’s so we can enjoy Him and His presence.
Prayer has sustained me through so much, it’s been my lifeline. When you have those moments when you feel like giving up on prayer or tapping out, DON’T! Keep going! Keep praying! Keep scrubbing away the grime. He’s with you. Yes, prayer might require more of you, but remember it’s correcting your heart! You can do it! We believe in you (Jesus and me).
