Praying? What is This Prayer You Speak Of?

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.

Loving the Unlovable

Loving the Unlovable

"To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. ( Luke 6:27 MSG)

We can probably all say at one time or another we have come across that one thorn in our side, that one past occurrence that left a huge scar on us or we may be dealing with someone in the present. All can probably attest to that one person we have experienced in being the difficult to love. It is that one person that no matter how hard we work, it’s never good enough. It may that one person that always pointing fingers of blame, but fails to look in the mirror. It may be a person that continually puts you down, never sharing loving encouragements. It may be someone, after you ready to destroy repetition or damage your character. How do we truly love our enemies?

Often times we just don’t know what to do in order to overcome or release the anxiety these circumstance leave upon our hearts. Someone may be lying over and over, leaving trust unreachable. He may be making the same mistakes again and again, causing his own pain, yet damaging the relationship you have tried so hard to build. Her world may be so out of control, in a way beyond your reach. You have no structure or plan on how to get her back on track. The times you have been let down are countless, leaving you tired, weary, full of questions, with no solutions in sight. You find yourself building you own wall of protection to shield yourself from further pain or damage.

How do we continue to love someone that has proven over and over the trust is no longer worthy or every time we reach out, our hands become scarred? It isn’t easy loving those that seem to take advantage of what we embrace as an every day blessing.

Yes, of course, we come across temporary situations where someone may have wronged us and we go on; forgive and forget. We don’t waste our time allowing that one small insignificant moment to ruin our day. We overcome and go on. However, why is it so easy to allow the same thing to occur with those that continually misuse our friendship, our trust, and our willing hearts? Is this God’s plan for us to always turn the other cheek?


God doesn’t expect us to lie down like a rug and continue to be used over and over. We are not to allow other to beat down our confidence in a way that leaves our self-esteem low or we become victims. We are not expected to turn a blind eye on being abused or watch other being treated badly. However, are we are not to take on the Rambo attitude and give back what it coming to those that hurt us? Do we seek out our revenge, making sure justice is served?

What do we do? We have to stop and ask ourselves the big question. Are we secure in Christ, mature enough in Christ, to know that next time we are attacked, insulted or abused, that we are FREE enough in Him to reject our own will, to refrain from our urge to seek revenge, so that our Father, our redeemer of all things, who knows us better than anything on this earth, shall once again reconcile our hearts and mind? Are you willing to turn the other cheek? Are you willing to say, “Father in heaven, take this from me, so that I be blessed by your glory and grace.”

"When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. Luke 11: 21 MSG.

God wants us to love, forgive and pray for those that hurt us.