A lot of times when someone says, "I'll pray for you." we just kind of shrug that off as something that good little Christians say to one another. But what are we really saying? Think of it this way: What if you were telling someone about a problem you were having, and they said, "Well, here, let me call the president for you, and I'll see what he can do." How would you feel about that? And yet, here we are praying to someone infinitely more wise and powerful than the president, and we think of it as no big deal, or as a last resort. Do we realize what we are doing? Do we see that we are bringing our case before the All-Powerful Ruler of the Universe? We have lost the awe in prayer.
But He told us to pray without ceasing, didn't He? Isn't it natural for something we do that often to lose some of its luster? I don't think it has to be. And that's ignoring the fact that none of us pray nearly as much as we should. We would just be in awe all the time. And why not? Our God is awe inspiring, and He never changes.
So prayer should be a mix of the awful and familiar. On the one hand, yes, we should never lose sight of the fact that when we pray we are approaching the Throne of God Himself. And He is there, listening. Actually listening. Right where you are right now, if you pray to Him, He will hear you. And He wants us to pray to Him, to talk to Him. So much so that He did indeed tell us to pray without ceasing. And He will always listen, and answer. I don't believe there is such a thing as an unanswered prayer. Just sometimes the answer is, "No." or maybe, "Wait." Just because you didn't get what you thought you wanted in the way that you thought you needed it right when you thought you had to have it doesn't mean that God didn't hear you.
But this mighty God, this great Judge, who said He was like a consuming fire, told us to come boldly before this Throne of Grace. That's because He is also the Great Shepard, our Father and Friend.
So talk to Him. He's there waiting on you. And He'll never miss your call.
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3 comments:
I just happened to think of checking blogs tonight, and since you also posted this today I thought that was pretty cool..
Thank you for the insightful words. It's something that I've always known yet constantly need reminding of. Especially here at college. It's way too easy to get lax in your prayer life.
I need to call you and chat soon. If I don't call you, you should definitely call me. :) laters!
Thats good stuff dude. What I have been thinking about lately in regards to prayer is how we sometimes get totally focused on the "beggarly sinner" form of prayer where we beg and talk to God in prayer like a guilty man begging for a stay of sentence. Yet we forget about the verse that says "come boldly before the throne of Grace" and we forget that God calls us friends, brothers, sons, His bride. Sometimes we need to bow in shame before Him, and other times we just need to sit and talk with Him.
I find that I hold prayer in a more reverental way when I do it often. It's like the red phone from Moscow to DC, when it rings it is always answered, and it's a direct connection.
Very cool thoughts, I often forget to come boldly as well.
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