How Are We Using Prayer

In an era of so much hardship I have come across more and more people opening their hearts to prayer then ever before. As a result I am starting to talk to more individuals starting to loose faith because they feel as if their pleads are falling upon deaf ears. If there’s a God, why am I still suffering? I fall to my knees every night in tears and pain, I beg you God and I know you can feel my pain, and yet my situation is still te same. Where are you God? Before we look into this deeper I want to warn you that you will be challenged to reflect on yourself, your walk with God, and some of this info may be hard to take in. On this note I ask you a question, what is prayer…what purpose does it serve in your life….and how have you been using it?

I ask this question because it seems like society has turned prayer into a 1-800 help line. It’s only used as a request channel to God when a need arises and nothing more. It seems like this is the only time people actually speak to God or reach out to him. Prayer is one of the greatest privileges ever handed down to mankind, the gift of openly speaking to God one on one.

Think about it as your own one on one phone line to God himself, our creator willing to set side time for you, the one whose hand is responsible for your very existence, the God who hand picked you to be created on this Earth. Prayer is meant to allow you to bond with God, talk to him, pour your heart to him, simply put…communicate with him as your heavenly father. This gift was handed down to us as a way to fall in love with him. I wish I could put into words how much I appreciate talking to God, thanking him for opening my eyes and heart to him, helping me to understand his word, the wife he has blessed me with, the son he’s allowed me to raise on his behalf, our new child on the way. There are times when I am approaching him for forgiveness, and thanking him for never giving up on me. There are times where I need his help. There are times when I just talk to him as if he was sitting right next to me.

I encourage you to look at your prayer life. Are you using this gift as an opportunity to develop your relationship, or do you only use this privilege when it benefits you? Imagine if your marriage was only based on demands. Imagine if the only time your spouse spoke to you is when they needed something and nothing more. Honey can you get me some coffee, Honey can you get me something to eat, Honey I need some money, Honey this and Honey that. Imagine if your significant other never called to say hello, tell you they loved you, complimented how wonderful you look, how they appreciate you, or if there’s anything they can do for you. How would this make you feel?

Imagine if as a parent the only time your child ever acknowledged you is when there was a need that you could fulfill. They come home, walk past you, turn on the TV. They sit at the dinner table, talk to their siblings, and call their friends. They walk right past you at bed time, never to say a word. All of a sudden their favorite video game is on sale and now you’re the light in their life. The hug you, bat their eye’s, and tell you how much they love you and can you get this game from them. Afterwards, you become a shadow in their life again until the next desire you can satisfy for them. Sadly, there are marriages that can relate to this example and children who treat their parents in this manner. If you can relate I challenge you to be honest in how this makes you feel? Are you motivated to fulfill the requests of your spouse, or give your child what they asked based on the illustration above?

This is where I challenge you, how are you using prayer? Are you only approaching God when it benefits you? Are you only praying when you have a need, and forget about God after you have received it? Or, are you using this blessing as an opportunity to grow your relationship with the big guy upstairs? God looks down on us as an Earth filled with his children and yearns to develop a parent like relationship with us. You have to put yourself in God’s shoes once in a while and ask yourself what kind of child have I been? Do I bring him joy? Am I the child that calls him everyday to tell him how much I love him, and how appreciative I am of him? Do I come to him just to talk and build that father, son / father, daughter type of relationship, or am I the child that only shows up on the scene with my hand always out?

In our next Blog we will continue on this question what kind of child have you been for God in relation to prayers. Understanding that there are those who are truly trying their hardest to follow God in obedience and yet feel as if their prayers are unheard, we will look into this a little later.