Prayer 101

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The Lord hates the offerings of the wicked, but he is happy to hear the prayers of those who live right. (Proverbs 15:8)

We don't have to have all the right words to reach out to God when we need help, assurance, peace, or even comfort. What we do need is a heart that is humble, a spirit that is submitted to him, and just a little bit of faith that he will hear and answer. Even if we are lacking in the last one, God can make up for the faith we lack right at that moment! 

Sometimes we go to God in prayer as though it were some sort of 'transaction' between God and us. The 'here I am, what are you going to do for me now' kind of prayers are not really what God is after when we go to him in prayer. Yes, he delights in meeting our needs, but he takes much delight in us acknowledging him, giving him thanks, and allowing him to show us exactly what we need.

To treat prayer as something we 'do' rather than a means by which we connect with our God is also not entirely right. We might think we say a particular set of words and then all will be well in our lives, but it isn't in the 'specific words' we speak that the need is met. It is in the honest sharing of our heart. Some of us need to exercise a little more 'heart' in our prayer than 'wordiness'!

Prayer isn't about the time we spend in prayer or the length of our prayers as much as it is about the exchange of truth. We are truthful with God about what we are feeling and experiencing, while his truth begins to be revealed about the circumstances and how he is using them to reveal something in us or through us. Prayer is always about connection. Sometimes we just connect heart-to-heart and walk away refreshed, but there will be times when we connect with the truth about an area where our heart isn't quite right yet. Either way, the connection is powerful.

My pastor said something the other day that I'd like to close with. We don't need 'magic words' or 'proven' formulas - we can just pray the scripture. When we are at a loss with what to say, maybe we just pray the scriptures. We can never go wrong with reminding our hearts what God says to us in those sacred passages! Just sayin!

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