Prayer? What is this Praying You Speak Of?
January 19, 2010
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be honored.
(Matthew 6:9 HCSB)
Have you ever heard, “When I pray, I lose focus” or “How much time do I need to spend with God?” Or, “Does God really hear my prayers?”
If we are always talking to God, we wouldn't have those questions as the bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17. “Always be joyful. Pray without ceasing.”
Does this mean we have to be on our knees every minute of the day? With the demands we face in our daily lives, we feel fortunate to spend five minutes with God. However, the context of that verse is with the attitude, not the action. We are to remain joyful for all things and communication with God at all times. It doesn’t mean we have to be a sitting down formally or setting a time limit to be in prayer. It can be while we are sitting in traffic, filing papers at our job, making lunch for our toddler, sitting quietly in an empty house or on our lunch break. We have many opportunities to talk to God.
Prayer is our most personal level of communication with God. We can talk to Him, anytime, anyplace, for as long as we want and in any language. We can reveal our inner most thoughts and fears. We can share our doubts and concerns. We can cry or share a laugh with God. God is open to us. Prayer is our heart talking to God.
On many levels we pray. We pray for our country and our Government. We pray for other places that are being hit by devastation, such as Haiti. We pray for our Pastors and leaders. We pray for our marriage or relationships. We pray for our jobs. We pray for our children, our parents, and our siblings and our extended family. We pray for our positions in life asking God to keep a firm hold on us. We pray that we will pass an exam or the Degree we are working toward comes soon. We pray for a healthy life style, or overcome an illness we may go through. We pray for another person's soul.
We CAN pray without ceasing, always whispering the soft petitions to our Father letting him into our minds and hearts.
Praying is simply communicating with God. We can talk to God just as a child talks with his or her father. There is no certain amount of time, or certain format we must follow. Prayer is not a magic gimmick that will complete our every desire, nor can it force a sudden result to our needs. We pray because we want to be close to God.
What if we are confused and not quite certain what to pray about? The Holy Spirit brings together our prayer so that we are praying according to Will of God. God’s spirit that dwells in us will communicate to our hearts and minds. When we pray we can have confidence that God understands.
How do you pray? Do you have a certain time you set aside each day to spend time with God? Do you whisper prayers all day long, knowing God is hearing your quiet voice? Do you have a prayer group that you attend, joining together as one voice? There are no wrong answers or perfect design to talking with your Father. Just be yourself and talk to Him. He just wants you to be part of Him as He is a part of you. Exercise your privilege and faith and let God know you TRUST Him.
Prayer can be our First Aid. It can heal. It can restore. It can bless. It can protect. It can build. It can bring comfort. It can bring wisdom and encouragement. God is always ready to hear our prayers. This is why we can pray always and always pray.
