Prayer - Are You Doing it "Right?"

Just pour out your heart to God.

I've been thinking a lot about prayer these days. Being the Prayer Team Coordinator for our church means all prayer requests that come into the church and channeled to me, then sent out to our Prayer Team.  Some of these requests are heartbreaking and when there are many of those during the week, it can get you down if you don't anchor your faith in a God who loves each one of those people deeply, a God who knows what is the very best for each person in each situation, A God who understands each heart.

So, a while back, I started to feel like as I prayed for each request it seemed like I was giving God orders - God, heal this person, God restore this marriage, God save this woman's son, God break this man's addiction, God protect this man in prison...

One day the thought occurred to me that since God knows the intimate details of each person and their circumstances, that it might be better to ask God to step into their situation and do what if the very best thing for all involved and to help each person lean heavily on him during their trials.

Then today I read an short synopsis for a book on prayer. It started like this...\

"Are your prayers being answered? Do you even know what to pray? Deep down inside, do you feel that prayer is too passive to really accomplish much?"

I have to tell you, these three questions bug me. It seems to infer that unless you pray the correct way or unless you pray passionately, God won't bother to answer. Or if it seems that your prayers aren't being answered, it's your fault for not praying right. That rankles me to no end!

Friend, one of the most loving things we can do is lift a hurting person to God in prayer. We don't have use the perfect words or quote the appropriate scriptures back to God before he will pay attention to our prayers. We don't have to work ourselves up into a frenzy before he responds. All we have to do is open our hearts and let our love for others pour out to him. Sometime, we don't know exactly what to pray because a trial in someone's life may be what it takes to draw someone closer to God or to transform their character to be more like Christ. Not that God brings calamity on us just to teach us a lesson. He doesn't. Life will do that for us all by itself because we live in a broken world and when it does, God sees and works to turn a bad situation around so that good will come out of it.

So, go ahead and pray for those you love, those you don't like, those you don't even know when you see someone hurting. Don't worry about saying the right words or having the right posture, just open your heart and ask God to work his perfect will in their lives. That's better than anything else you could possibly do.

So, what do you think? Does prayer intimidate you? Have you been frustrated with your prayer life?

Remember, prayer is just an open conversation between you and your Father God.
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Well, shut my mouth!

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

Every conversation, no matter how short or how long, leaves the other person either feeling better or worse. It doesn't matter if it's an online conversation of a couple of sentences, a short conversation with a store clerk, a lengthy phone chat or asking our children to do something - in any situation, our words have the power to heal or hurt.

It's not just the words we use, but the tone of our voice, the expression on our face, even our body language conveys either a positive or negative message to the other person.

Think your words aren't important? Read what Jesus has to say about out words in Matthew 12:34-37...

³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Do your words bring healing or hurt?

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18

Your words matter a great deal.  

Let's leave a trail of smiles behind us, not a trail of destruction.

*****

Scripture Prayer:

“Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141: NIV)

"Help me, Lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed." (Psalm 141:3 NLT)

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Jesus had Questions of His Own

One day as Jesus and his disciples sat by the lake, a throng of people gathered around him. He took the opportunity to deliver a stirring message, filled with many parables. Toward evening, he said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side." They left the crowd behind, got into the boat and set out for the distant shore.

A furious squall came up. The waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Where was Jesus?  Fast asleep in the back of the boat!  The disciples woke him with but one question on their minds, "Don't you care if we drown?"

They did what many of us do when the storms of life hit. They questioned the one they thought loved them. The one they thought would keep them from all harm. 

We do that. We ask God why he would let bad things happen to 
us- his children. We sort of expect him to give us a smooth, trouble-free life, but he never promised that. In fact, he said just the opposite:

"...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)

So, we need not be surprised when life brings us stormy seas. Trouble hits everyone and yes, it does sometimes raise questions in our minds. In fact, when the disciples questioned whether or not Jesus cared if they died, he had a question of his own...

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”  Mark 4:30-41

"Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus knew the storm would hit. He is God, come in the flesh. He knew everything. So, why would he suggest crossing a lake when he knew a huge storm would hit them. Perhaps it was to prove to the disciples that no matter the danger, they could trust him. Perhaps it was to reveal to the disciples just how little faith they had in him. Perhaps it was to display the powerful saving grace of God.

Storms will hit - it's a part of living in a fallen and broken world. It's a part of life. Expect hard times to come.  Before they do, anchor your faith in the one who has overcome the world. Rest assured that he will see you through the storm, providing whatever is needed. 

Sometimes he calms the angry sea around you and sometimes he calms the angry storm within. 

Trust the One who loves you beyond measure, the one who knows you better than you know yourself and please know that if he allows a storm, he'll go through it with you. Perhaps the storm is necessary to deepen your faith.

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