Prayer

It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place…

From the beginning to the end of the Bible, we see people praying. (Genesis 4:26; Revelation 22:21) Daniel prayed 3 times a day. David called upon God with his whole heart. Elijah prayed on the mountain top. Jesus spent a great deal of time in prayer. Paul and Silas prayed in the dungeons of prison. People prayed when they were happy. People prayed when they were sad. We have all these examples, plus multitudes of commands and myriads of promises all connected to prayer. Why?

One obvious reason is that prayer is a vital tool that keeps us connected to God. We can’t participate in a relationship with someone we don’t spend time with. Another is that prayer acknowledges God’s greatness and our desire to have Him lovingly rule our lives. Prayer shows our love for God. Prayer shows our reverence for God. Prayer puts our trust in God.

I also think God wants us to pray because He knows how much we need Him in our lives. So deep are our needs that we cannot afford to cease praying. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) We all have individual emotional needs, spiritual needs, physical needs, psychological needs, and abstract needs. We need forgiveness, mercy, patience, joy, and love. Only God can truly fulfill our needs and the needs of those we lift to Him in prayer. Prayer shows our dependence on God to provide what we cannot.

Jesus encouraged His followers to pray. (Luke 18:1) It’s interesting to note that the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to preach; they asked Him to teach them to pray. (Luke 11:1) This is especially interesting considering the Jews were not strangers to the concept of prayer. In fact, the Pharisees thought they knew how to do it perfectly. They were diligent with the mechanics of prayer, making it a ritualistic exercise the common man could never hope to achieve.

However, the disciples discovered from hanging around with Jesus that something was missing in this kind of prayer. There was no sincerity or “heart” in those prayers. For true prayer is a heart to heart conversation with God. True prayer is heartfelt.

Heartfelt prayer changes us. As we pray we draw near to God and He draws near to us. (James 4:8) We are humbled by God’s presence. He is great and we are not. In God’s presence, we are less anxious. In God’s presence, there is strength, peace, and calm. (Philippians 4:7) Our perspective on life changes as His thoughts become our thoughts.

God yearns for us to talk freely and spontaneously with Him—in our own words. We don’t need eloquence, meaningless repetition, or excess verbiage. (Matthew 6:7) I’m so thankful that prayer is not a complicated process. It is merely heartfelt communication with God.

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“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)

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