What Prayer is Not
I remember struggling with prayer in the past when God brought me back to Him years ago. I always remember freezing whenever I was asked to pray because I am not sure about being able to spew out nice sounding "holy" words that could last me beyond just a few seconds. But then God reminded me about prayer in Matthew 6 where He highlighted some things that He does NOT look for in a prayer:
- Pray to be seen by others so that one will be seen as righteous (v5)
- Praying long meaningless prayers so others can hear them and be seen as righteous (v7)
It was a matter of the heart when it comes to prayer. And the bible warns "do not be like them". From then on, it corrected my perspective of prayer. Just as we sing to an audience of One when we have praise and worship, so do we pray to the audience of One, when we pray.
As I did my quiet time this morning, I am reminded about prayer again.
The Necessary Prayer that Speaks Volume Matt 6 teaches us about prayer. Twice in Matt 6, the word of God reminds us that God knows what we need (v8, 32). But even though so, the bible goes on to teach us about prayer; a prayer that, when spoken from the right heart, speaks volume. Jesus says "This, then, is how you should pray":
- "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" (v9) speaks and reminds us of respect and honor for a great and Almighty God in our lives.
- "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (v10) speaks of submission and surrender of our lives to God, that His will be done.
- "Give us today our daily bread" (v11) speaks of supplication to the Lord because He knows what we need and provides.
- "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (v12) speaks not only of asking God for forgiveness for the times we grieved Him but also the commitment to forgive others as the Lord forgives us.
- "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (v13) speaks of the need to be guided by the Lord in our lives.
The Litmus Test
- Where are you in your prayer life today?
- Do you come to the Almighty God with your prayers?
- Do you trust God enough to come back to Him to commit it and lift it up to Him to handle; a God "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20a)
- Do you come with the right heart?
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land".(2 Chronicles 7:14)
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt 6:33).
Hope it blesses you and have a blessed day!
