Prayer becomes a problem when we do not know the reason we pray. When prayer becomes a routine, it is bound to become burdensome. What is meant to Quite a lot of people see prayer as hard work yet chatting with friends and our loved ones does not feel that way. This is because we do not truly understand prayer to be a time of conversation with God.
GENESIS 18:22-26
“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
Nothing should give our hearts rest than knowing that whatever we want to ask for in the place of prayer is already known to God, though He requires that we say it out when we pray, which is simply because He wants to have a chat with us each time we come into His presence to pray.
To see prayer as a channel to just tell it all to God is to neglect the most important part of prayer- having a conversation with God. There is a need to always have quality time spent in relating with God in prayer and this has a way of reflecting in our response to the situations of life. When things happen and we decide to turn to God in prayer, He usually changes our perceptions on such situations which enables us to see whatever it is we are confronted with from God’s point of view rather than our own perspective.
Until we know the mind of God regarding the situations we are faced with in life, we are bound to be weak, vulnerable and hopeless. The moment we, however, know the mind of God regarding a matter and are rest assured of His presence with us, there is an unusual strength and ability that is released unto us to stand firm against anything that tries to stand against us and His will for our lives. This knowledge is gotten in the place of prayer and it helps us to remain unmoved when others panic, such that we are perceived as strange and unexplainably different.
1 JOHN 5:14-15
To see God as a prayer answering machine that can be turned to only when we are in trouble or want something done for us is to rob ourselves of the numerous benefits that come from giving ourselves to relating with God as we relate with those whose company we enjoy and always look forward to spending quality time with, not necessarily because we are in trouble or need their help.
When we get to the point of being down and helpless, prayer provides the hope and strength needed to carry on. As much as we have several solutions that we can proffer to our perceived problems, humbly laying it all at the feet of Jesus points at the fact that we trust Him. My observation over time and the greatest lesson I have learnt from Biblical heroes is that no matter what comes our way as God’s beloved, He knows what is best for us and He will not give us less than His very best.
The most important thing to do in the place of prayer is to trust that God is well able to do beyond our expectation and that He knows what He is doing and will not leave us hopeless after we have turned to Him for help. Our hope in God does not, however, mean things will always turn out the way we want it to, it simply means we are surrendering it all to God and trusting that His will be done ultimately.
EPHESIANS 3:20
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
Pray because You trust God to do much more than You can ask or think of, make the moment of prayer a time spent in communicating with the One that has answers to all questions and is capable of doing all things for those who trust Him to do even the impossible. There is so much fun in coming to Him in prayer with the mindset of a person in a relationship with an understanding and supportive friend whose ears are always open to hear us and whose mouth is always open to instruct us in the way to go. He is more approachable than we perceive Him to be. He is fun to be with in the place of prayer because of His ability to respond to us just as friends do when they relate to each other. Have fun as You approach His presence henceforth.
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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