Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Mar 2, 2007 8:05:18 GMT -5
February 1st, 2007
I know I do not speak for just myself when I say that prayer most of the time seems dull and uninteresting. There obviously must be something we are not doing correctly though because prayer should be one of the most enjoyable parts of our spiritual life.
If you stop and look at how most people pray, you may realize that it most often seems to be focused on us. We tell God how great He is and acknowledge how loving and powerful He is, but this is said so often, that it makes it so easy for this to just become a monotonous ritual or tradition, rather than truly meaning it in our hearts. It's like maybe we unconsciously think that if we tell God that He is wonderful and loving, that we have made Him happy for the day and He will feel like giving us more blessings.
Have you ever stopped to realize that for the majority of people, when we pray, the focus of our prayer is on our own needs or desires? We ask God to cure this disease, or help us on a test, or help us to get to work safely, or to help us get this job, help us not lose a friend, etc. And the happier we are, the less we seem to pray to God. If we're having a great day, we tend to focus more on what's good in our life, and how much we are enjoying this time now. If we're having a bad day, we tend to spend much more time asking God to help us feel better, and then we give a short thanks if we do start feeling better.
But if you look at the Bible in this same light you'll notice that prayer was not always like this, and for many Bible characters it was just as intense on a good day as it was in a time of crisis. Prayer was not meant for the single purpose of giving God our requests. With this method we are almost acting as though we think God is a machine who may or may not grant our wishes depending on how happy we make Him. Prayer is meant to be a conversation with God. Of course we should always go to God in times of trouble, He should always be who we turn to. But our prayer life should not consist of simply asking God to help us out.
What if I called you on the phone and told you I wanted you to pick me up for class tomorrow, and while you were at it, stop by hardees and buy me a biscuit for breakfast, and then after you drop me off at class, please go pick up my prescription for me and take it home to my house, but be sure to take my dog for a quick walk before you head home. Some people may be happy to do this of course, but on a daily basis, it would get old. God doesn't simply want our requests, He wants to have a relationship with us. Asking God to give us something or help us out in a situation should only be a fraction of our prayer life.
The word Christian literally means, "to be like Christ". We aren't Christians because our parents were, because we go to church, or even because we believe God exists. Even Satan knows God exists, he had conversations with Him. The definition of a Christian is literally a person who chooses to devote their life to Christ. That means our focus should not be on this temporary world and our circumstances, but on God and the bigger picture.
God wants us to get to know Him on a personal level, for who He really is, not for who we want Him to be in our minds. God wants to be our best friend. With the world the way it is today I can't help but wonder sometimes if most Christians do actually worship God. I'm concerned the focus of their worship is more on whether or not God is going to listen to them and cooperate with what it is they would like to be done in their lives.
Prayer should not be about us trying to influence God into giving us what it is we want. Rather it should be about God speaking to us most of the time, and us honestly listening. I've had nights when I've been so upset that I would just lay in bed in tears, asking God to just change the situation, make it all good again. But most of the time He never did. Does that mean He doesn't love me or didn't hear me? Absolutly not. What I wasn't realizing was that I just wasn't listening to what He was telling me. The truth is that He wept as well because I was weeping, but He was waiting on me to let go of myself and my earthly desires, and just give myself to Him and put my trust in Him. You have to take a big leap of faith and just trust God to catch and carry you the rest of the way. That's when true joy overpowers you and when you can experience miracles.
Prayer can be a very enjoyable part of your life if you learn how to have a two way conversation with God. The best way to pray in my opinion is not just about asking God to give you happiness and what you desire, but to make the focus of your prayer life on simply relating to God, being honest with Him about your feelings, and wanting to know Him on a more intimate level. Take your focus off of this world and temporary earthly desires, and spend your prayer time relating with God, getting to know Him, and enjoying His presence. That's what a real relationship is all about.
(C) Scott Morgan
source:http://www.the-daily-blessing.com
I know I do not speak for just myself when I say that prayer most of the time seems dull and uninteresting. There obviously must be something we are not doing correctly though because prayer should be one of the most enjoyable parts of our spiritual life.
If you stop and look at how most people pray, you may realize that it most often seems to be focused on us. We tell God how great He is and acknowledge how loving and powerful He is, but this is said so often, that it makes it so easy for this to just become a monotonous ritual or tradition, rather than truly meaning it in our hearts. It's like maybe we unconsciously think that if we tell God that He is wonderful and loving, that we have made Him happy for the day and He will feel like giving us more blessings.
Have you ever stopped to realize that for the majority of people, when we pray, the focus of our prayer is on our own needs or desires? We ask God to cure this disease, or help us on a test, or help us to get to work safely, or to help us get this job, help us not lose a friend, etc. And the happier we are, the less we seem to pray to God. If we're having a great day, we tend to focus more on what's good in our life, and how much we are enjoying this time now. If we're having a bad day, we tend to spend much more time asking God to help us feel better, and then we give a short thanks if we do start feeling better.
But if you look at the Bible in this same light you'll notice that prayer was not always like this, and for many Bible characters it was just as intense on a good day as it was in a time of crisis. Prayer was not meant for the single purpose of giving God our requests. With this method we are almost acting as though we think God is a machine who may or may not grant our wishes depending on how happy we make Him. Prayer is meant to be a conversation with God. Of course we should always go to God in times of trouble, He should always be who we turn to. But our prayer life should not consist of simply asking God to help us out.
What if I called you on the phone and told you I wanted you to pick me up for class tomorrow, and while you were at it, stop by hardees and buy me a biscuit for breakfast, and then after you drop me off at class, please go pick up my prescription for me and take it home to my house, but be sure to take my dog for a quick walk before you head home. Some people may be happy to do this of course, but on a daily basis, it would get old. God doesn't simply want our requests, He wants to have a relationship with us. Asking God to give us something or help us out in a situation should only be a fraction of our prayer life.
The word Christian literally means, "to be like Christ". We aren't Christians because our parents were, because we go to church, or even because we believe God exists. Even Satan knows God exists, he had conversations with Him. The definition of a Christian is literally a person who chooses to devote their life to Christ. That means our focus should not be on this temporary world and our circumstances, but on God and the bigger picture.
God wants us to get to know Him on a personal level, for who He really is, not for who we want Him to be in our minds. God wants to be our best friend. With the world the way it is today I can't help but wonder sometimes if most Christians do actually worship God. I'm concerned the focus of their worship is more on whether or not God is going to listen to them and cooperate with what it is they would like to be done in their lives.
Prayer should not be about us trying to influence God into giving us what it is we want. Rather it should be about God speaking to us most of the time, and us honestly listening. I've had nights when I've been so upset that I would just lay in bed in tears, asking God to just change the situation, make it all good again. But most of the time He never did. Does that mean He doesn't love me or didn't hear me? Absolutly not. What I wasn't realizing was that I just wasn't listening to what He was telling me. The truth is that He wept as well because I was weeping, but He was waiting on me to let go of myself and my earthly desires, and just give myself to Him and put my trust in Him. You have to take a big leap of faith and just trust God to catch and carry you the rest of the way. That's when true joy overpowers you and when you can experience miracles.
Prayer can be a very enjoyable part of your life if you learn how to have a two way conversation with God. The best way to pray in my opinion is not just about asking God to give you happiness and what you desire, but to make the focus of your prayer life on simply relating to God, being honest with Him about your feelings, and wanting to know Him on a more intimate level. Take your focus off of this world and temporary earthly desires, and spend your prayer time relating with God, getting to know Him, and enjoying His presence. That's what a real relationship is all about.
(C) Scott Morgan
source:http://www.the-daily-blessing.com