Prayer is such an essential part of our relationship with God. Unlike using Facebook or Messenger, which are really very impersonal forms of communications, having as much intimacy as a corporate memo, prayer is a very intimate sharing.
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When we pray, most of the time we are sharing more with God than he is sharing with us, but he always listens and he does answer. That answer is not always what we expect or when we want it, and sometimes it’s just “Nope- no gonna happen“, but he always answers.
The trick is being open enough to recognize the answer when it comes.
I have heard people go on and on and on…and on when they pray, and they even stop often. When they do, it’s almost comical because you can see their faces contort because they are trying to figure out what to say next.
If you ask me (and even if you don’t), that ain’t praying: it’s trying to sound prayerful, and I will also go as far as to say it is probably meant more to impress those listening than to impress God.
I think if you ask someone well-versed in the Bible what they consider the most beautiful prayer, they might say 1 Kings 8:22-53, which is the prayer Solomon made at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. It is quite beautiful and I believe the, if not one of the, longest prayers I have read in the Bible.
But for me, the most beautiful prayer in the entire Bible is in Exodus 12:13, when Moses prayed for his sister, Miryam, to be healed from God’s punishment, when he gave her tzara’at (leprosy) after she and Aaron spoke up against Moses.
And what was his prayer?
“Oh God, please heal her!”
Why do I believe that is the most beautiful prayer?…because it comes directly from his heart. It is simple, direct, and heartfelt to the point where just reading what he says you can feel his pain and anguish at the fate of his sister.
He doesn’t run on, he doesn’t repeat “Father God” fifteen hundred times, and he doesn’t search for something to say that sounds very “King James-ish.”
You know, I am pretty sure that Yeshua would agree with me because when he was asked how we should pray, he gave us not just a simple and short prayer (in Matthew 6:9-13), but what is the template for all prayer:
1. Start off recognizing God’s authority and omniscience
2. Ask just for what you need
3. Ask to be guided in the proper way to live, and
4. Finish with thanking God and (again) recognizing who he is.
Let’s not forget that Yeshua warned against babbling on and on like the pagans do, so the next time you are praying and find yourself thinking of what to say, my recommendation is that you have already said too much, so just shut it down there.
Don’t misunderstand me- if you are praying long and hard, but it comes directly from your heart, maybe even with some tears, that is okay. In fact, that is great!
But if you are repeating the same things over and over, and find yourself trying to find more words, or feel there should be more to say, you need to stop.
We are told that God already knows what we want and what we need, so you might ask,
“If God already knows my heart and mind, and what I need, why do I have to pray to him and ask for it?”
My answer is that God wants us to pray to him because when it comes from the heart, prayer creates a strong bond of intimacy, which is something that God desires to have with everyone.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believer. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for this week, and I will be off all next week (Donna and I are going on a cruise), so until then, l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!