=WHEN YOU PRAY "BE YOURSELF"=
Matthew 6:5-15 (Message Bible)
And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production
either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping
for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? "Here's what I want you to
do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before
God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will
shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. "The world is
full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of
formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you
want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are
dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.
Hey Champion, let's talk about our personal prayer lives. Prayer can of
course take many forms or have differing expressions, it's a big subject.
Today I am not talking about your church prayer meetings or any other public
type prayer expressions, I am talking about your personal one, your
one-on-one time with your heavenly Father.
We should all have 'grand designs' concerning this and if we want to build
an effective, healthy prayer life with God then it is good to remind
ourselves of some real basic truths:
_Prayer is communication_
To me the true success of growing in your christianity lays in understanding
the fact that it is not a religion rather a relationship, a living
relationship with the creator of your life and lover of your soul, the One
who knows you and has always known and loved you. As with the development of
any other relationship in your life the key to your relationship with God
experiencing desired health and growth is dependent upon communication
(talking and listening). Just as a married couple will never grow correctly
together if they never communicated so it is with the relationship that you
have with God. It is vital that we are effectively communicating with Him
and allowing Him to communicate back so that this relationship we have begun
can ever be maturing and developing with greater confidence and intimacy.
God does not want you to impersonate someone else you saw pray well once! He
wants you to be you and believe me, He really can handle you being you.
Remember, God is not giving you points for a great performance – this is not
a talent show! – rather He desires to connect and communicate with you,
heart to heart.
When you read through the gospels you see that Jesus had a problem with the
performance and hypocrisy (pretense) of the pharisee, not the honest cries
of everyday folk. Be honest; God can handle the truth and can't be shocked
by you or how you may be feeling. Let him know what you love and hate, what
makes you happy and what causes you sadness. As with Jeremiah He has known
you from before you were born, He did not suddenly notice you when you got
saved. When we understand this we can throw away every dusty, wrong-fitting
costume that religion and ignorance have convinced us to stupidly wear.
Champion, God knows you, loves you and wants to spend time with you in two
way conversation – that is prayer.
God bless, go have a talk with your God!
Andy
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