God Is In The Conversation
"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)
Prayer is a challenge for everyone I know. We struggle with the silence and marvel when God answers. It is a conversation but not among equals. So often I hear people pray and it seems to me that they see themselves on equal footing with God. Now that is a stretch for any of us. Some think they can command God to act (many of these come from the "name it and claim it" crowd) and others are afraid to ask God anything for fear He won't answer. Neither of these extremes is good. God wants us to trust Him and to talk with Him.
Let em share a couple of thoughts on prayer.
1. Vance Havner was a evangelist and author. In a meeting in my home town some 40 years ago now he told this story. During a drought in Texas a pastor called for a church prayer meeting for the specific purpose of praying for rain. The people arrived and the church was packed. At the appointed time to begin the pastor got up and sent everyone home saying, "Since no one brought an umbrella it is evident that we don't believe God will send rain so why waste our time and His." I wonder how often I pray not believing that God can or will act. The element of faith and trust is key to developing an effective prayer life.
2. It is important not to try to "blow smoke" with the Lord. Many times I catch myself praying words I think God wants to hear rather than the words that are really in my heart. I might say, "God I know you don't make mistakes so I will trust you." When my heart is really saying, "God I know you don't make mistakes but I think you just made your first one." When I am honest with God about my emotions and thoughts I give Him the opportunity to change them but when I lie about them and refuse to acknowledge my true feelings I thwart God's opportunity to change me.
Prayer is something we all need to practice more and become more comfortable doing. It is a conversation with our Father and He loves us more than we can imagine. It's time we talked with him, honestly and reverently.
What is God teaching you about prayer?
No comments:
Post a Comment