I've done a whole lot of praying lately about specific stuff but in studying about prayer, I've learned a lot of specific stuff, too. I don't think there's a wrong way to pray and I don't think there's a wrong time to pray. I do believe that our hearts might not be in the right place each time we pray but I think it's true that God wants us to take everything to Him in prayer.
Sometimes we are tempted to steer clear of prayer or to take a break from praying because our thoughts are not "Godly". Maybe we think that we have to "dress up" our words or our way of living so that He will listen. Maybe we believe that we have to have a certain formal language to enter into conversation with God but I really think that God is more interested in real, honest prayers than He is the formal, pretty, put-together prayers.
When we are happy, He wants us to tell him about it. When we are sad, He wants us to tell him about it. When we are scared to death, he wants us to tell him about it. When we are excited, he wants us to tell him about. When we are so mad we could spit nails, he wants us to tell him about that, too. He's big... He's God... He can handle it all...
Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."
One Sunday a few weeks ago, we sang an old hymn at church. I recognized the tune before I understood the words since they were in Creole. I remembered it from childhood. It's called 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'. The lyrics say this:
- What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
It's so true... we hold so much and we carry so much that we were never meant to carry because we believe the lie that we just can't go to God until....... (fill in the blank). Even if we aren't ready to let go of our fear, our pride, our lack of trust or even guilt, we begin to see ourselves through God's eyes and we get to know His heart when we go to Him in prayer. He encourages us to go to Him just as we are. You can read more about that here: http://www.gotquestions.org/come-as-you-are.html
Taking what's on our hearts to God is rewarding and even required as a child of His but I don't think it stops there. When we are honest before God, we offer up our feelings but a lot of times we take expectations with our offering. Right? We expect Him to do something with our offering or to reward it. Oftentimes, we want a "fix". We want relief or we want more or maybe we just want answers. We want something in return. Like when we call and order take-out pizza.....
"Thank you for calling Dominos... may I take your order?"
"Yes, I'd like order.......... I'd like one pizza with thin crust
and one with stuffed crust... I'd like to add
extra toppings to the thin crust but
I only want cheese on the stuffed crust.
And can you add (2) orders of cheese sticks?
But don't overcook them cause I like them squishy....."
and one with stuffed crust... I'd like to add
extra toppings to the thin crust but
I only want cheese on the stuffed crust.
And can you add (2) orders of cheese sticks?
But don't overcook them cause I like them squishy....."
This may seem funny but how many times do we call God and talk to Him like he's a 'pizza guy'?
What would happen if we called God to actually get to know God?
If I called Dominos and instead of placing an order said, "Hi, it's Dawn... I just wanted to talk to you... I want to get to know you better so tell me about you....", it probably wouldn't be long before I'd hear a click and then a dial tone. But what if instead of calling God with an order each time we pray, we stopped to just listen?
"Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God himself who gives the answer. Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer." ~My Utmost for His Highest
It's so easy to lose sight of the fact that God IS working in our everyday lives and even in the people around us when our focus is only on getting specific answers or specific things.
Prayer is not about trusting God's will to my will and saying, "I want this or that". But it's being willing to let go of my will in exchange for His will, which is always better (not easier, but better). It's about aligning my will with His and letting go of my plans and accepting His.
It's through obedience and doing the thing God has placed right in front of us that causes us to see Him and His will. So unless we are calling Dominos or Pizza Hut or Papa Johns, let's try to do more than order when we call God.
"Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to Him." Deuteronomy 30:19-20
"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance..." Proverbs 1:5
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