Prayer: The Desire of Your Soul

"Prayer is not a hard requirement - it is the natural duty of a creature to its creator, the simplest homage that human need can pay to divine liberality."  - Charles Spurgeon

With all that is going on in the world today, I thought that it couldn't hurt to talk a little bit about the subject of prayer. And, why not? After all, Jesus was a person who prayed. In fact, we need not look any further than the Bible to find examples of Jesus praying.

Here are a few: as Jesus was praying, the heaven literally opened up (Luke 3:21-22); he went out into a mountain to pray on the night before choosing his twelve disciples (Luke 6:12); after the feeding of the five thousand, and the multitude wanted to make him king, he sent them away and went up into a mountain to pray alone (Matthew 14:22).

Regarding prayer, we must keep in mind  to always do our righteousness for God's approval rather than for human approval. Jesus warned about dangers in the approach to prayer (Matthew 6:5-6). The Pharisees often managed to be in the most prominent places at the hour of prayer so that their piety might be on display for all to see.

There was one major drawback to this approach. While it's true that they received praise for their piousness, this praise came from other men. They did not receive God's approval! Thus, if you think you can fool God, you'd better think again. Jesus never asks anyone to be insincere with prayer.

Here's another good point. Our heavenly Father doesn't need to be informed about one thing in our lives. That is, He is well aware of our needs before we even ask. The desire of your soul is your prayer, whether you verbalize it or not. This is why there are times when words may be helpful, but not always essential. There is a special understanding between us.

The attitude of the prayer is crucial, as well. When in prayer nothing else should divert or distract you. It should be the only thing on your mind. Finally, prayer is primarily an expression of fellowship between you and God. It's no different than any other loving, respectful, understanding and compassionate relationship.

Scripture: James 4:3; Philippians 1:4; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22; Romans 12:12

Prayer: Dear Lord, in those times when I don't quite know how to ask; may You continually guide me in prayer, amen.

May God bless you always,

Adena