10/04/2019
What is prayer? What is the basis for prayers?
Can a Christian be guided with recital prayers?
Let's focus on the very core of what prayer is.
Matthew 6:5-13
We live in a microwave society; we want everything instantly, and if we can't get it right away, we'll go to the next convenient place or person to get it. It seems the same truth applies to Christianity. Christianity has been pulled into a "spiritual vortex" of the microwave society.
According to the Bible, prayer is a communication between you and God. It is the ladder between heaven and earth. When praying in the Spirit, you automatically link to the throne of grace. It is a closet or secret place of Rendezvous with God. So, what happens when you're there? If unsure, then read Psalm 95; there are other sources of reading. After reading it, your next question should be, what is your purpose? If your answer is to glorify God, then you are on the right track. Can you glorify God through someone else prayers? I would hope not….
Prayer cannot be taught by human standards, (not referring to the various types of prayers in the ministry; referring more to personal prayer). It must be experienced through the worship of the Spirit of God. When praying with a sincere heart, there should be a display of thankfulness, love, remorse, failure, brokenness, hopelessness, and the desire to change. Prayer is a dialogue between you and your God, not monologue. It is the essence of being in the presence of God in heaven and being absent from the physical world. It is a place to relinquish physical pains, burdens, and emotions at the throne of your heavenly Father. 1 Samuel 1:10, " And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish."
However, in today's' society, Christians have become so mundane and complacent in their beliefs instead of taking time to seek and know God. Some believe, it is much easier to cut and paste from a piece of paper, or website, the words from prayers, written by someone else, and turn it into their own prayer. Some preachers are not helping with the cause; instead, they are propelling the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ into a comatose state. An intellectual entity, yet spiritually unconscious. Some are leading with the aspiration of intellectual spiritualism, not with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They have a misguided heart, heart trained by men ( Matthew 15:8-9, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor me with their lips. But their heart is far from Me. And vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandment of men.") These individuals do not allow the Spirit of God to lead them. Instead, they set their own rules to be the guiding rod, for others to follow and to be accepted. They have a benign philosophy, which can be hard to detect because of the Humanistic aspect of it. Colossians 2:8 (NIV) "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.,"
Consequently, Jesus did not model one singularity of prayer. Instead, He gave us a formula. No other prayer can connect us through the throne of grace except through the method that Jesus Christ gave us, read Matthew 6:5-13. Anything else is merely mundane and idolatry. A true prayer is from a sincere heart. Prayers written on a piece of paper, website, and internet are recital prayers. Not the kind of prayer God desires for His children. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying those prayers won't be answered but be aware! Read Matthew 6: 5-13. Jesus Christ prayers are examples of dialogue with the Father.
Let's take a look at what the Bible says about when you do not know what to say when you get before the throne of God, Romans 8:26-27, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." In addition to counseling us, another attribute of the Spirit of God is to teach us what to say in prayer. I will not go into details, but these verses show the interception of the Spirit of God for the people of God before the throne of grace when they don't know how to pray ( the prayer of the intellectual man doesn't exist before God), but the Spirit of God who knows all things intercedes on our behalf.
Prayer is such an important part of a Christian's daily life. It must be elevated with great care. It is the only source of communication that connects us to the Father. In fact, when prayers cannot be expressed through the canary of a sincere heart, then it becomes idolatry in its highest form. According to James 4:3, "Ye ask, and receive not, you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lust."
Short story: At the age of 14 years old, my parents left our country to seek a better life. As a young man with no father figure or mom to guide me, there was a moment in my life where I felt deep loneliness, abandoned, with no one to care for me. One evening while in church, not knowing how to pray, what to say, and who to pray to, the Lord gave me "an ear of hearing", while the person who was directing service prayed. I heard three names mention in that prayer. With those three names, I began praying, invoking the name of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. From there, the rest was history. It was mind-boggling, the way I poured out my heart to God like never before, just as Hannah did. In fact, a missionary preacher who was sitting next to me said to the congregation, I'm not sure why this young man is crying, but I believe his prayer has been answered. During that same week, which was a Passover week; I was led by the Spirit to fast. That's when I made my commitment to God. No one had to tell me when and how I can pray. Do I always know what to say now? Of course not! Most times I don't possess the words to articulate what's really groaning in my heart. However, you better believe one thing; the Spirit of God always intercedes in my prayer when I do not know what to say.
