Conversations With God
Praying is one of the most basic practices of the Christian faith. Yet, how many of us truly understand what prayer is or even 'how to pray'?
When asked about prayer, Jesus gave us clear guidelines:
He told us to pray from an intimate relationship (Matthew 6:9). Prayer is the heart-to-heart discourse between man and God. It is not rote, but alive in the moment. It is a privilege made possible by the love of our Father in heaven through His son Jesus.
He told us to pray from a submissive heart (Matthew 6:10). Prayer is not presumptuous. It recognizes that the will of God is of primary importance, regardless of our circumstances or what we want to happen in them. It declares that His plans for any situation have become our plans. Prayer isn't so much about what God can do for us, but what we are to be doing for Him.
He told us to pray for what we need for the day (Matthew 6:11). Prayer is focused on the present. It does not dwell on the past or worry about the future. It recognizes that God is at work today, taking what has already been and preparing the way for what is to come.
He told us to pray from a pure heart (Matthew 6:12). Prayer from a cleansed heart is powerful. A repentant heart is one that finds it easy to forgive and keeps us free. Injustices cannot hold us captive. Sin cannot accumulate or accelerate in our life.
He told us to pray from our dependency (Matthew 6:13). Prayer gives us courage. It allows us to walk fearlessly amidst an evil world. It recognizes the sovereignty of God over all things and focuses our trust in Him alone.
He told us to pray in His name (John 14:14). Prayer keeps us in line with Jesus' will, which is the Father's will. Our hearts have preferences, biases, and prejudices. Praying in Jesus' name means praying with a heart aligned with His will, not one consumed with what we want. It is a process that must be labored through.
He told us that faith was essential to prayer (Mark 11:24). Prayer transfers burdens from our life to Jesus. It is giving Him our circumstances and then allowing Him to take care of them His way and in His timing according to His plan for our life. Only with faith can we hand Jesus our burdens and then rest in Him without the urge to come back and begin carrying them once again.
He told us that prayer isn't confined to a time or a place (Luke 11:9). Prayer is an ongoing conversation throughout the day as we walk with Jesus. Sometimes, it is a simple question. Other times, it is a diligent searching. It can even end up as a loud knocking on the very door of heaven.
He told us that the potency of a prayer is not found in a multitude of words (Matthew 6:7). Prayer is the simple cry from the heart of man to the heart of God and back. It is unadorned, truthful, and unpretentious. God knows what we need. Prayer helps us to see what we need.
He told us that prayer isn't one-sided (Luke 11:10). Prayer is speaking and waiting to hear what God has to say to us. Just as a conversation requires two-way communication, so it is with prayer. After we have spoken, we should wait and listen for an answer.
Many of us have prayed wrongly at times:
We have not tried to get in line with Jesus' will for our lives.
We have sought only what we wanted and then added "in Jesus' name we pray" on the end as if this phrase was some supernatural password God couldn’t resist.
We have been impatient, not waiting for an answer, but rushing off to do what we wanted, assuming God would stop us if it were not what He wanted.
We have compartmentalized our prayer life instead of allowing it to flow out of the moments of life like an ongoing, continuous conversation.
We have prayed about what has already passed or rushed beyond God’s present concerns into the future.
The next time we pray, let us each begin a fresh conversation with Jesus and then listen to what He has to say to us about things great and small. This is an essential part of staying in step with Him each day as we walk together.
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(Matthew 6:9) “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."
(Matthew 6:10) "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
(Matthew 6:11) "Give us this day our daily bread..."
(Matthew 6:12) "...and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
(Matthew 6:13) "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
(John 14:14) "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
(Mark 11:24) "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
(Luke 11:9) "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
(Matthew 6:7) "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words."
(Luke 11:10) "For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.