s20060229ill_How To Revive My Prayer Life

Introduction—Expectations

"Once upon a time there was a school that needed a new coach. After several seasons of not doing well in the finals, their old coach (who the school thought was mediocre) moved on to greener pastures. Actually, it had been decades since the school enjoyed the playoffs. So, the principal along with the administration began to locate a coach with degrees in coachology; one that could move their team towards division championship. The school headhunter secured the right choice, and the training began!

"Before the next season would begin, the coach worked around the clock to help the team live up to their potential. First, he thought, the team should run laps at each practice, and doing some calisthenics wouldn't hurt either. Then, the coach speculated that having the team start practice on time might help them too. As long as he was at it, he remembered some practices he'd been to that really strengthened him and other teams he worked with; so he just knew this team would be excited to try out those practice-sessions! After all, that's exactly what the principal told him the school wanted.

"This upset the teammates. Their old coaches, for as long as they could remember, had never expected this! None of the other districts practiced like this — what would they think? So when they complained to their parents, their parents called the principal and the administration. To the surprise of the coach, the school's administration was opposed to the plan. So, the coach went back to the locker-room, looked over the training manual, and looked over the chalkboard plays that were so carefully diagramed. Sure enough, everything was by the book, and the plays on the board were tried and true; they worked well for other teams. So, the coach scratched his head.

"The coach finally had a meeting with the administration and explained in detail the plans for training the team, so the team could recruit new members and ultimately do what their team was assembled for. The administration looked to the principal, he looked back to them, then they told the coach what coaching was really all about. "You see coach, we know what the manual says, and we agree that the team needs the practices and to run the drills." They started. "But the team might quit if we ask them to do too much, too soon." The coach scratched his head and wondered to himself, "Didn't anyone tell the team what was expected of them when they signed up to play?" Instead, he asked, "What expectations have been communicated to the team?" And they all looked puzzled as they wondered together about this . . .

"So, the coach was frustrated, the parents were mad, and the administration met to decide how to encourage the coach to motivate the team, without disrupting their usual practices. Meanwhile, the teammates still wanted to play the game, they just didn't want the coach to make strange demands they had never heard of before. They ran the plays they knew, while they waited.

"So, the coach wrote a letter to the principal explaining he decided it was best to have the administration just suit up, and let them hit the practice field bright and early. Then he thought twice, and crumpled up the letter and threw it in the recycle bin. He realized not everyone counts the cost, or has a sense of urgency for opening day of the season."

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to "explain God". I wonder if any of us could have done as well? EXPLANATION OF GOD:

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.

His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother! God. Li ke a secretary, only more important.

You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.

But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.

And...that's why I believe in God.