Think on These Things: Positive thoughts in a negative world…
Many times we go to people asking advice, but we really do not want their input. What we really desire is their stamp of approval on what we want to do.
Unfortunately, we can approach our spiritual life the same way. Many prayers are not seeking God’s guidance in our lives, but an attempt to talk God into giving us what we want. “Give me, give me, give me” prayers miss the mark. No wonder the disciples had to ask Christ, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
Prayer can have many components: praise (1 Chronicles 29:10-13), adoration (Ephesians 3:14-21), thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:20), supplication (Matthew 7:7; Philippians 4:6), confession (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9), and so on. However, most of us just focus on supplication and trying to get what we want for ourselves and for others.
However, effective prayer’s purpose is not to get what we want; it’s a way of changing ourselves so we want the right things. Prayer is not a means to change our circumstances as much as it is a way to change ourselves. That’s heavy stuff. Prayer coupled with Bible study helps us form a deeper relationship with God and know the mind of God.
While it is true that God hears all prayers, if the only time we pray is when we are at the end of our rope, then expecting God to deliver us from our circumstances is unreasonable. Prayer doesn’t change circumstances as much as it changes our perspective, so we can cope with our circumstances. We don’t pray, “Let my will be done;” we pray, “Let thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
If we are praying often, we can even grow to mean it when we say, “Let thy will be done.” Our goal should be to align our will with God’s. Christ realized this when he prayed for “this cup to pass from me” regarding his crucifixion, yet He told God He wanted God’s will to be done (Matthew 26:39).
We were created to be in a relationship with God. Prayer is part of that process. A deep, meaningful relationship cannot form unless we have a means of constant contact. Prayer is our avenue of developing that relationship. It provides continual dialogue with God.
Perhaps our prayers would get more results if we didn’t approach them with the attitude of “I wonder what God can do for me today?” Maybe asking God what we can do to better serve Him each day would make all our prayers more effective. It’s definitely something to think about.
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“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
