Prayer is foundational to our lives as Christians. However, we tend to treat prayer like a lifeline when we are in trouble or an IOU when we want something. Nothing more. As parents, we don’t want our children to come to us only when they are in crisis, and we certainly don’t want them to come to us with an expectation that they should receive something from us. We want a relationship that is honest and true, full of love, obedience, and respect, with our full authority intact.
God wants the same thing from us.
Jesus teaches about prayer and even includes for us a model prayer (Matthew 6:5-15). We get personal insight into how Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples, and future believers (John 17). We also learn to pray in His Name for His glory (John 14:13, 14), and even further to check our motives when we pray (James 4:3; Psalm 66:18).
Prayer is about developing a relationship with the Lord of our lives, a life of prayerful surrender (John 15:7-11).
And if you still don’t know how to pray, rely on Romans 8:26-27, which says:
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God (NKJV).
Let’s Commit
Take steps to improve your relationship with:
- God – Ephesians 3:20, 21
- Others – John 15:12, 17; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:25
- Self – John 16:23, 24; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; Hebrews 4:16; Jeremiah 35:15