Why I participate in 40 Days of Prayer

I thought I might start out by writing about why I like participating in our 40 Days of Prayer journeys. I am absolutely convinced already of the value of spending quality time with God every single day. I usually plan to have my most intentional time with God first thing in the morning — it always makes my day go better! But… sometimes when that alarm goes off at 5:00am… its very hard not to hit the snooze button (several times). Participating in this kind of church-wide experience gives me that little extra bit of motivation to keep going, or to get started again.

In the same way that I appreciate the strength of a community effort, I also appreciate peeking inside the mind and heart of specific community members — those who write the prayer guide for the day, and those who write on blogs (:)) . I have found it to be incredibly encouraging to observe the way other folks speak about their faith. Even in a church community, it is possible to start to feel a little isolated spiritually — as much of the spiritual stuff is what’s going on inside us. The 40 Days of Prayer Guide is a wonderful opportunity engage with 40+ other people in our community and see the spiritual stuff that is going on inside of them!

If you are participating in the 40 Days of Prayer (and that is NOT a requirement to participate in this blog!) — why? What is about this experience that touches your spiritual life?