March 22, 2016

Seek God Through Prayer

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -- Matthew 6:5-8

Do you pray every day? I hope you answered yes. Unfortunately, for many the answer is no. I can’t imagine that. I really can’t.

God is my best friend. He is my Creator. He is my everything. I trust Him completely and He gives the absolute best advice. He always has time to listen and He cares about me more than anyone else ever could. So why wouldn’t I want to talk with Him each and every day? Why don’t you?

There are different ways to pray and there really isn’t a right or wrong way. God wants to have a relationship with us. He wants to hear what we have to say AND He wants us to listen to what He has to say.

My prayers begin usually before I get out of bed. I am so grateful for sleep and safety. As I sip coffee, I thank Him for numerous blessings and pray for those who matter to me. There are so many needs in this world -- people fighting cancer, grieving for family members, hurting deep inside -- that it is easy to talk with God and ask Him to help them.

Throughout the day I find myself seeking Him out. It could be something as simple as thanking Him for a beautiful day. It could be something more serious, like asking Him for protection or to hold my tongue when someone is pushing my buttons -- again.

My prayers are private things, just between God and myself. In His Presence is where I am safest and where I can share what lies deep inside of me -- good and bad. I’m not trying to impress anybody or defend myself. God is the One who accepts us as we are, where we are. Every time. We don’t have to fix ourselves before we seek Him out.

Yes, I sometimes pray before others. But, even then, I really only have an audience of One. What about you? Are you impressed with eloquence or are you impressed with a sincere heart? What do you think impresses God? He wants honesty and truth and a clean heart.

Whatever you’ve got going today, take time to pray. Seek God out. Share your day with Him and listen for His Words to fill your heart up.