Pray like it depends on God. Act like it depends on you

​There's an old Bon Jovi song that says, "you give love a bad name."

Well, there have been days I think that I, as a Christian, have given prayer a bad name.

I'm evolving, but for a large part of my life I've treated prayer as a Santa's lap experience. Come. Sit on God's lap. Tell me everything you want and need in life. Then I go home and sit and wait until God arrives.

When that "Christmas" morning comes, to the degree I got those things I wanted and needed, oh how I loved my God. I'm a believer.

To the degree I didn't, well God must not love me. Does God even exist?

The last several years, I've come to understand more than I ever have that prayer is not a one way communication. Prayer is not an admission that I'm helpless in this deal - you're my last ditch effort, God - see if you can do anything with this situation or this challenge or this hope or this dream.

Several years ago, I was running shortly after seeing a piece on the news about the devestation Hurricane Harvey had inflicted on Texas. I found myself talking to God about the heartbreaking scenes. I found myself sitting on God's lap asking him to take care of that situation.

And maybe for one of the first times ever, I heard God ask a question I've come to hear a lot these days. I heard God say, I know what I'm going to do in Texas, but what are you going to do?

What am "I" going to do?? 😮 - uhm, you're the God here....

That question weighed on me the rest of my run. By the time I was done, I decided I was going to use running to raise some money for the relief efforts in Texas. That's how I was going to attack my day and attack those heartbreaking scenes.

I'll spare you all the details, but not long after that decision to raise money for relief efforts, I found myself standing IN Texas. I found myself in a service with friends from all over the country, hosted by a church we'd partnered with to support relief efforts in the Houston community. I found myself in the middle of relationships that would change my life forever.

That story, as much as any, has come to define prayer for me.

Prayer is the conversation with God, an acknowledgment, that says we are in this together.

Prayer is this conversation with God that says, I realize “I” am the ingredients for this thing we’re trying to create in life. I have no idea what we’re baking here, but I’m going to pour in every ingredient I can – with faith and trust – that “YOU” are going to make something unimaginably delicious out of them.

Prayer is this confession that, God, I need you.

But prayer is also ownership, it’s recognition that, God, you may not need me to pull off all you're going to pull off here, but you’d sure treasure my help.

Prayer isn’t asking God to fix everything, it’s humbling asking God to let me be the ingredients that help bake the fix.

Prayer is saying I'm depending on you God, but I'm going to attack this day like the world is depending on me.