Starting New Life Cover

TOPIC 7: 
PRAYERLEARNING TO SPEAK TO GOD

   

     Imagine a small peasant boy from an obscure village who grows up working in the fields by the sweat of his brow.  He has virtually nothing in terms of material wealth and no social standing to speak of.  Nevertheless a royal carriage comes riding up to the village one day with an envelope engraved with the king's seal.  Inside the envelope is an invitation for this peasant boy to come to the palace of the king, to dine with him, and to spend the afternoon walking the palace grounds and talking with the king.  Who could have imagined that such an insignificant peasant boy would have been granted such a high honor?

     In some ways this make-believe story reflects a very real spiritual truth.  The Lord God is eternal.  He is the Creator of every natural thing we know in our universe, from the distant galaxies to the most minute microscopic creature.  He is infinitely wise and utterly more intelligent than we are.  Yet He has invited us to come into His royal presence that we might have the high honor of conversing with Him.

prayer 2.jpg     We might wish to excuse ourselves from prayer, thinking that God must surely be too busy to have time to  hear our feeble murmurings.  Yet He is not too busy to hear our prayers.  There are many reasons why prayer is important to God.  First and foremost, prayer brings glory to God.  When we pray, we (in effect) kneel before Him in humility, acknowledging Him as Lord.  Second, when we pray we demonstrate our dependency upon God.  We were not meant to be self-sufficient automatons.  We were created to be completely dependent upon the Lord.

     Since the topic of prayer is one of the most extensive subjects in the Bible, we cannot possibly cover everything there is to know about prayer in this short space.  Yet here are four key lessons to help you get started in becoming a person of prayer.  First, remember that prayer is a conversation between you and God, and you do not have to worry about how you say things.  God is far more interested in the attitude of your heart than He is with the words you use.  He is not entertained by a memorized prayer or in you using meaningless repetition.  In Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus taught, "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites [the Jewish religious leaders]; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

Faith.jpg     Second, pray in faith.  Doubting is not the way to gain God's approval or move Him to act.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you."  God is pleased when we look to Him with eyes of faith, believing that nothing is too difficult for Him!

     Third, we cannot come before God expecting His forgiveness, if we have an unforgiving spirit toward another person.  In Mark 11:25 Jesus explained, "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions."  This reminds us that prayer is not automatic; some heart preparation is necessary before we come asking God to hear our requests.

     Fourth, prayer is the alternative to being consumed by anxiety and the way to having inner peace.  In Philippians 3:6-7 we read, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

     Now that we have discussed a few of the important lessons regarding prayer, let us consider a model for how we can approach God in prayer.  Rather than rudely darting into the King's presence, we should enter in humble recognition of who He is.  Many believers have found the following acronym helpful:  ACTS.

                      A  -  Adoration
                      C  -  Confession
                      T  -  Thanksgiving
                      S  -  Supplication

Worship Him Thankful.jpg     The Lord God is not a big genie in the sky, as though we only turn to Him to get something we want.  Therefore it is appropriate when approaching the Lord in prayer to first "adore" Him.  We do this by praising Him for who He is.  For example, we can praise Him that He is always faithful, or that His love for us is always unconditional.  Next, we should take time to "confess" any known sins in our life.  We must remember that we are coming before a God who is perfectly holy.  Psalm 66:18 declares, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear."  Then we should take time to "thank" God for things He has done.  This could be in regard to our own life, but also in regard to our nation, our church, or anyone we know.  Having a thankful spirit is pleasing to the Lord.  Finally, we can "supplicate" God, that is, ask Him for things we would like to see happen or for help that we need.  Although we can certainly ask for things we want or need, we should remember to ask Him for things we would like to see Him do for the sake of His kingdom.

     Take time to pray often.  Have a set time for prayer each day, but also stand ready to pray at any time throughout the day.  The Lord loves to hear your voice!  "The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Proverbs 15:8).