Prayer is one of the main ways we converse with the God of the Universe.
Let that sink in for a moment. Those who are children of God are able to talk with Him any time, any place, for any reason. The One who created all things loves us enough to listen to our every thought, every problem, every question we may have for Him.
Do we take this for granted?
It can become so easy to be swept away by the daily routines, the sudden surprises, the worries of life that we can go hours, days, weeks without truly seeking the Lord in prayer.
Are we truly dependent on the Lord if we are not going to Him in prayer? Or are we living lives of self-sufficiency by withholding our thoughts, struggles, needs, and requests from Him? Do we recognize our lack of control by submitting to Him the things we are struggling with in our lives? Are we asking Him to mold us and change us into His image?
There are innumerable reasons to pray, but the most important is to grow in our relationship with the Lord. Jesus has paid a heavy price to reconcile us to the Father, and because of Jesus' sacrifice to die on the cross for the sins of the world, be raised to life, and intercede for His children, those who believe that He is the son of God and are willing to obey Him even unto death have the ability to boldly approach the throne of God with confidence.
As Hebrews 4:14-16 says,
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
We should not take prayer for granted but recognize that it is a magnificent gift from the Lord, one we definitely do not deserve.
As we seek the Lord in prayer, we should examine our hearts. Are we praying merely for show or to try and convince ourselves and others that we have a relationship with God?
Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18: 9-14 describing the attitude His disciples should take when praying because there are many who are "confident of their own righteousness" and look "down on everybody else". He describes a Pharisee who enters the temple to pray and says before everyone, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector." The Pharisee uses prayer as a way to boast about his own righteousness, never recognizing he needs God just as much as the "other men" he is describing. The tax collector, on the other hand, will "not even look up to heaven" as he beats his breast and says, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The tax collector realizes his sin and need for God's mercy to the very depths of his soul. Jesus concludes the parable by telling his disciples and the people that "this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God" because of his genuine humility before the Lord.
If we believe we are righteous on our own, why would we need Jesus? It is only when we understand the depths of our sin and humbly ask God for mercy that we are justified because we can accept our need for Jesus to make us whole and restored to Him.
Prayer can also help us to relinquish control over our lives and the circumstances that daily surround us. We never have control but we constantly live as if we do. It is a lie that we are in control of our world, our community, our lives. Yes, we live in a broken, fallen world, so there are many terrible things that occur because the Lord has graciously allowed all people to make the choice whether to submit to Him or not. Nevertheless, He holds it all in His sovereign hands. Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God encourages believers by sharing "that as for the miseries and sins he heard of daily in the world...he prayed for them; but knowing that God could remedy the mischiefs they did when He pleased, he gave himself no further trouble" about them (17).
When we are dependent upon the Lord, we have no need to worry about the problems of this world. We can release our burdens and cares to Him through prayer. 1 Peter 5:7 instructs believers to "humble" themselves "under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift" them up, and to "cast all [their] anxiety on him because he cares for" His children.
Paul commands the church in Philippians 4: 6-7 to "not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present [their] requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [their] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." By surrendering our worries to the Lord, we will find true peace in Him because our hearts have submitted to the fact that He is in control of the Universe, not us.
We truly need the Lord for everything. As a reminder, we have been bought at a great price so that we might have fullness of life in Christ. Sin, worry, fear, etc. should never be something that keeps us from coming to the Lord in prayer, but instead pushes us to His throne of grace confessing our need for Him and asking Him to help us become more like Him every day. Let us not abuse the gift we have been given by neglecting to spend time conversing with the God who made the way for us to have freedom in Him.
References:
Brother Lawrence. The Practice of the Presence of God. Grand Rapids, Spire. 1967.
Comments