Prayer is communicating with our heavenly Father, The focus of this short article, however, is not about who we pray to, or even in whose name we pray; but how we pray.
The point being, we can pray wrong. This is exactly what our Lord Jesus said.
He said we should pray with the right motive, and not just pray to be seen or heard. like the hypocritical pharisees.
He also said we should not pray vain repetitions. Think about what he is saying. Here, Jesus is talking about the content of our prayer.
Remember, prayer is communication, and communication should be effective. Every communication should have a purpose. That purpose could be to simply bless the Lord or to praise him – which is wonderful! But when you have a problem, don’t just praise the Lord in prayer and never address your problem with him.
The Apostle James said that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). In other words, not only can we pray with the wrong motive, but we can also pray in an ineffective way. If we fail to ask, don’t expect God to answer a request that has not been made.
When Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, he said something interesting. He said, the Father already knows what you need before you ask. He didn’t say don’t ask. He said the Father already knows.
Imagine this. You have a problem and you go to your earthly father. You tell him how much you love him and trust him, but you go away without sharing the real reason for going to him in the first place. That is disingenuous in that it shows a lack of confidence or a lack of trust in your Father. It could even be a matter of pride. You may be too proud to humble yourself and admit your own inability.
Here is the real crux of this message. Jesus said this next, and we pray it all the time: “Thy kingdom come. They will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
God is building his kingdom right here on earth, and he builds through believers. As believers do his will in our situations and every-day lives, as we apply his solutions to our problems, we are doing his will the same way his will is being done in heaven, where his kingdom rules. Do you see it? It is as we do his will, we do our part in establishing his kingdom here on earth.
Now here is the important part that I’ve been getting to. In many cases, we only know his will in our situations when we ask for it. Father, I desire to know your will in this situation. When we approach the Father in prayer like that, he is more than happy to share his will with us.
But don’t stop there. It is even more important that we do his will, and not just ask for it. That is effective prayer and kingdom building.
I am DianaForHim
Your Spiritual Coach
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