Thoughts On Prayer

Thoughts On Prayer

“...men ought always to pray and not loose heart.” -Luke 18:1, (NKJV)

-Come

Do it! Make a choice to be “with Him”. Conversation, request, praise, silence, reading the prayers of others, and more are all components of what we call prayer, but the point is to be “with Him”. Don’t miss that in anything else you do while in prayer.

-Be Honest

What’s the point of pretending with the God of the Universe who knows all things and us better than we know ourselves? The Psalms are a collection of (among other things) brutally, painfully raw humanity coming before God. Only a blind religiosity can read the Psalms and “sanitize” and explain away the raw humanity found in it’s pages. Heights of Glory, Godly Passion, Self Focused Misery, Unbridled Rage, Dancing, and Mourning, and More all comprise the Psalms, the principle prayer and song book of His followers for the last 2,500 years. Visit it’s language. Do it often. Do it slowly. And shed the blinders as you do. You will be amazed…

-Stay. Listen.

Honesty that “vents” and then “walks away” can eventually turn to rebellion and stubbornness that becomes settled in your soul and character. Our culture has elevated supposed “sincerity” and “how you really feel” to the point that anything less than not just merely acknowledging those feelings / desires, but actually giving in and acting on them is viewed as not being “real”. This is a fallacy. Again, the Psalms are a faithful guide here. The writers are raw in their honesty, but as they come to Him and stay with Him their perspective changes from the temporary to the eternal. Ours will as well.

-Choose. What will you say of Him?

The Israelites said, and said more than once, “He brought us out of captivity to kill us in the wilderness.” Their focus would turn from God’s greatness to the greatness of their circumstance and challenge. It was the classic “Yeah But” disease. “He brought us out of Egypt… Yeah But… Now He’s going to get us killed, or starve us to death”, or, or, or. At the gates of the promised land the majority said, “We are like grasshoppers, and we’re all going to die!” Caleb and Joshua saw the circumstance, but saw God as bigger, turning their “Yeah But” into what God intended! Caleb and Joshua said, “Yeah But, God has made them food for us! If the Lord is for us we are well able to take the land.” What will you say of Him? What is your
confession of Him in your circumstances?

-Trust Him! Yes, No, or Wait Awhile. Your Issue Isn’t Always The Issue. Or… “Just what in the world does happen when I pray?!?”

When it comes to our requests, God always answers prayer. His answer is always some form of “Trust Me, Yes, No, or Wait Awhile, or Your Issue isn’t always The Issue.”

Sometimes God says “No”. He said “No” when Moses wanted to take Israel into Canaan. He said “No” to David when David wanted to build the Temple. He said “No” to Paul when asked about the thorn in the flesh. And, lest we forget, He said “No” to Jesus when He prayed for the cup to pass away.

God’s promises are always “Yes and Amen”, but sometimes God says “No”. We don’t like it, but we need to realize it and trust Him.

-Heart Work

The most important thing that can happen in us is heart work. God has always been and is always after our heart. Out of it life flows… ours and His. God is after my heart. God is working on my heart.

Remember, Pastor Tom