God is not surprised by our prayers. He sends His Holy Spirit to help us
with them.
God is never thrown off by what we pray. He knows what we need before we even
ask. He is prepared with an answer before we make the request. Why then, you
might ask, does He even wait for the request? Like everything else, prayer is a
means through which we can develop a closer relationship to God. He wants us to
put effort into knowing Him and communicating with Him.
How
to Pray
How
do you pray?
Alone? As a family? In a group? Out loud? Within? Writing
prayers down in a notebook? There is no real specific way to pray, since we already learned that there are
many different kinds of prayer. If prayer is our tool of communication with
God, then we should know that, just as we communicate in many different ways
with people, so we communicate in many different ways with God. Still, there is
something to be said for learning how to pray, for prayer can be taught and learnt.
Prayer is
sometimes messy – look at Hannah praying in bitter grief, Elijah praying in
depression, Isaiah praying with a question, asking God where He is…questioning
God does not always indicate unbelief, though our questions should be asked in
the right way.
1
John 5:14-15 (if we ask according to HIS will…),
James
4:1-2, 3 (you do not have because you ask wrongly…)…
Hebrews 5:7
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered
up prayers and
supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from
death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”
We
should always pray with the knowledge of Who God is and who we are in mind.
1. Praying God's Word back to Him
We
have to be careful that we do not hide evil motives under a pretense of prayer.
For instance, praying “God, please strike so-and-so dead because I can’t stand
him. In Jesus’ name, amen” won’t get you very far. Sometimes we demand from God
rather than seeking God. We want Him to answer and provide for us without
developing a real relationship with Him.
If
we pray using Scripture, then we will protect ourselves from falling into that
kind of false prayer. We can pray, "O Lord, please teach me your Word. Let love abound in me more and more, with all knowledge and discernment (Philippians 1). Give me the wisdom to approve what is excellent (Philippians 1:10) and flee from what is evil. Help me to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32). Help me to walk in the light (1 John 1:7). Help me to imitate Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). Amen." That is a prayer God will delight to answer.
God is never shocked by what is really in our hearts. He knows us better than we know ourselves (that is what astounds me about His love for us).
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book by a woman whose only son committed murder. She records a prayer that she wrote in her journal just after he was arrested. It's not pretty, but it is honest - and God knew what was in her heart, anyway.
Good thoughts, as usual.