Matthew 6:5-15 (NLT)
When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
John continued ways in which we can seek God by mentioning the necessity of prayer. If you’re faithful in these devotions, I’m assuming that you already know the following. However, it never (ever) hurts to be reminded of such things.
Prayer, like the word love, has been watered down to the point where it rolls off everyone’s lips without much thought. We hear and say phrases like “I’ll pray for you” or “I’ll pray about it” daily. But do we really? Prayer is, quite simply, communication with God- through the quietness of your heart, through verbal talking, through music, through any number of other ways. It is what shows God our need and trust in him, it displays our desire to build a relationship with Him, and through it, we are granted strength and encouragement. The beauty of prayer, other than the obvious fact of getting to speak to God personally, is there is no set formula we must follow every time. Sometimes you will simply cry out in need to God. Sometimes you may pursue confession. Sometimes you may list all of the things you’re grateful for. Sometimes you could pray a Psalm. Sometimes you may pray for others. Sometimes you’ll just sit quietly. And listen. Keep in mind that communication means both sharing…and listening. Even when you don’t know what to say, the Bible says the Spirit intercedes on your behalf.
My friend JB taught me a great deal about prayer. He also had a unique way of remembering to do it. One morning, as we were discussing consistency in prayer, he says, “I throw my shoes under the bed every night. All the way against the other wall.” He paused long enough for me to wonder if something was wrong with him before finishing. “…That way, I have to hit my knees to get them. And while I’m down there, I pray.”
Well said.
One last observation: If prayer is so vital for our spiritual well-being and its simply communicating with God, why don’t we do more of it?
