Another "unsafe" prayer

Are we guilty of praying 'safe' prayers? Prayers that are kind of mamby-pamby at best - working our way AROUND the real need without ever really hitting the nail on the head! These types of prayers are prayed more times each day than we might realize - with some of them coming from our own mouths! Why? "Safe" prayers are easiest because we don't have to 'expose' too much - we can just 'hint' about the need and hope God gets the point.

And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come—
that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven. Give us the food we need for today. Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us. Don’t let us be tempted,
but save us from the Evil One.’ (Matthew 6:7-13)

Jesus didn't just tell us to pray, he gave us specific examples of how 'not to pray' and then told us how we should pray. In the opening verses of this chapter, he tells us not to be like the hypocrites that pray those 'big wordy prayers' that really say nothing - just bringing attention to how 'theological' our prayers can be. They don't win us any points with God because he'd rather we get alone and just share our hearts with him.

He also remind us of the importance of knowing God himself - of being in relationship with him - because that is the real reason for prayer - to relate! God knows our need, but we are still to talk with him about it. It is quite possible that in the intimate sharing of our hearts, God is doing the work of purifying our hearts just a little bit more. We don't know if our need is pure or not until we submit it to God himself. In those 'risky moments' of praying 'unsafe' prayers, we are opening ourselves up to what may become the 'best prayers' of our lives!

Notice our passage begins with an expectation - "And WHEN you pray..." There is no option in prayer. It is necessary for two people to talk - to share openly with each other - if they are to grow together. Even deaf and mute people talk! Even blind people use their other senses to explore what they hear. Don't think you can bypass being open with God - it isn't going to allow growth if you just put those 'safe' prayers and never really get to the 'juicy' stuff you are keeping all bottled up inside.

"Safe" prayers are simply prayers that should remain unspoken. They are idle words - empty and devoid of substance. Get specific about your sin and see what God will do with that honesty. Get down to the nitty-gritty about your desires and see how God begins to unfold how he plans to fulfill those desires. Get real in sharing your hurts and see how God's grace can bind up those wounds. It is the 'unsafe' prayers that open the door of God's heart. Just sayin!

Never a wasted word

I have found people have a harder and harder time communicating with each other these days unless it is done in some sort of emoji, tweet, or text message. We just don't interact face-to-face all that much anymore. The smartphones have given us access to our 'friends' 24-hours a day - pinging away with each newly composed message, cute video feed, or stunning social media post we receive. God isn't a 'social media' kind of guy, though. He really hasn't changed from his original plan of face-to-face interaction! It is called prayer and very few of us really 'get' how prayer works any longer because we have forgotten how it works to really share - to speak, listen, restate a conversation, mull things over together, and get down to the heart of the matter - all while being connected and vulnerable face-to-face.

God keeps his distance from the wicked; he closely attends to the prayers of God-loyal people.
(Proverbs 15:29)

There are times when we feel that our prayers are seemingly unanswered - just spoken words into a void that somehow absorbs them and doesn't do anything with them - like sending a text and not knowing if the other person ever saw it because there was no acknowledgement. Then there are other times when it seems that the words are no sooner spoken and they are answered - life's catastrophes avoided, circumstances changed, hearts mended - intervention comes quick and sure. Regardless of the "timing" of the answer, the promise we want to hold onto is that God closely attends to the prayers of his kids - those words spoken and shared with an open, vulnerable heart.

His attention to the "details" of our life is not accidental - it is purposeful and totally intentional, because he doesn't have to get 'caught up' on his 'timeline' or 'social feed'. I cannot fathom with my human mind how God keeps all the details of my life, the lives of my friends and family, not to mention the other several gazillion  people who live on this earth in his sight and constant attention. I don't have to understand the "abilities" of God to know whole-heartedly that I can count on them, though!

The promise is that God "closely attends" to the words of his people. Not the tweeted ones we post so often, but the ones we speak and those that have to be 'nursed' from our souls as we sit quietly together.  There are times I would rather God not hear the words of doubt intermingled in my prayers, the words of fear spoken in moments of terror and my undoing. Yet, in his intense love for us, he hears each and every one of the doubts and fears - taking them to his heart and wrapping them in his care. He does this because he is our "close" friend, our "caring" father, and our "compassionate" Savior.

Prayers are nothing more than the expressions of our heart. When we learn to share our heart with God in an open and realistic manner, he is there to "closely attend to" the various needs of our lives. Sometimes we don't think God wants to hear about our doubts - but how will he help us overcome them if we cannot express them freely? There are times we think it is not very "spiritual" to have fears, to be angry, to feel frustration - it may very well be that those "emotions" are what God needs to see and hear expressed in order to open us up to what it is he desires to do within.

Prayers can be desperate or easy, frantic or calm, rapid-fire or bubbling forth in a free-flow of expression. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to pray - the simple matter is that God wants to hear what is on your mind and in your heart. As he does, he attends to us like no other could possibly do. He intentionally intervenes wherever, whenever, and however we intentionally share our need. Open up to God in the honest expression of your heart and mind - learn how closely God attends to that open communication with him! Words spoke to God are never wasted words. Just sayin!

Bold as lions

Guilt has a way of making us "edgy" - nervously irritable, impatient, anxious - maybe because we fear we will be 'found out' somewhere along the line for whatever it is we are feeling all that guilt over. One of the most "telling" characteristics of someone who is feeling a sense of guilt is that sharp edge that they get to their tone whenever they feel they need to defend themselves in their present state. It is human nature to either want to defend our actions, or to run from the scene in an attempt to escape the emotional upset guilt brings. WE want an 'out', while GOD wants an 'in'!

The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one's after them; honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions. (Proverbs 28:1)

We each have a unique opportunity to touch "edgy" people with the grace of a forgiving God, but it might be harder to take the 'edge' off someone if they really don't want anyone to know of their guilt. In scripture, there is something referred to as the two-fold call of the disciples - it involves both preaching repentance and then revealing there is forgiveness of one's sins. We are not exempt from this call today. It is our duty to point guilt-ridden (edgy) people to the only thing that can really set them free from that guilt: Christ. Repentance is really the actionable part that man plays in the process - it is the change of one's mindset that begins the process of allowing healing to occur within. Forgiveness (or remittance) of our sins is God's part.

Honest people are upright in their character - there is no contradiction in their character - in other words, there is consistency between actions and words. They live relaxed and confident lives. We can see so many people living under the stress of life, never really enjoying their lives, living in a rather mixed up way, but never really feeling 'settled' in anything they do. Relationships are a mess, possessions do not satisfy their desires, and all attempts at success and fame leave them just a little emptier than they were before. Why? They lack the "relaxation" and "confidence" that comes from having their lives truly in order as it should be - ordered by the God of the universe, not by anything they can do or achieve.

What can we do to help point people to Christ? I honestly believe that a life that has been frequently touched by the Lord of Lords is "noticeable" - there is a difference in the basic way we process life and deal with life's occurrences. This difference acts as a little bit of a "lure" to peak the curiosity of the one who is observing us. It opens the doors to conversation and questions that stimulate further exploration. A redeemed soul reflect so much of God's grace and hope through the eyes - remember, the eyes are the window to the soul. Don't be afraid to let others "notice" what God has done in your life.

I know that we all have opportunities to be more sensitive to the "openings" God creates that are provided to share what it is that gives us hope, empowers us to live differently, etc. We often miss these open doors because we aren't looking for them. Others are frequently looking at things with a "different eye" for the detail than we may be seeing at that same moment. We each see and interpret life in a different way - even though we are in similar situations. Don't be afraid to share what God has given you a "view of" in your walk - it often differs from that of another - and may very well be exactly what they need to break free from what has them bound at this moment. Trust God for opportunities. With each opportunity, he gives insight. With each bit of insight, he gives the grace to express that insight. With each expression of his grace, he sends his Spirit to back it up with the power that plants the seed deeply. With each planted seed, he brings the future opportunities for the seed to take root and to eventually affect the one in which it was planted. We may not see much of an immediate result - but a seed planted is all he may be asking for from us at that moment. God's kids are unique and that uniqueness gives us an edge in a very "edgy" world. Let's allow our light to shine and see what that accomplishes in those we touch this week. Just sayin!