The importance of the right prayer
Image: crossfitfaith.org
Matthew 11:28 speaks of coming to the Lord when our burdens seem to be really heavy on our backs and surrendering to Him to find rest. Prayer can be one of our ways of communicating to the Lord during times of joy, hardship or sorrow. He knows what each of us go through and He does understand and love us.
Praying helps us develop a closer relationship with the Lord. It helps us find a refuge for when we are getting tempted and having negative thoughts. God is our ever present place of retreat. I was blessed with a mother who taught me how to pray when I was really young and could barely talk. She taught me who God is and showed me His word and led me to learn how to pray the ‘right prayers’. I place that in quotation marks because there is no perfect formula to pray to Christ, but here are the things she taught me.
1. The importance of the heart condition - My mom always sang the song, “A broken spirit and a contrite heart, You will not despise. You desire truth in the inward parts, a broken spirit and a contrite heart.” She taught me how David, despite his sins and his victories always had a humble heart that was willing and open to the Lord. The same with us, we must strive to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to renew us daily.
2. Freeing your mind - In our information saturated society, it is easy to be boggled and have your mind active even at the end of the day. It just seems really challenging to sit still and reflect and have a quiet mind. My mom’s advice? Discipline. She has always taught me to set aside a time for reading the bible and praying and has also told me the beauty of having that discipline in the morning and in the evening.
3. Relaxing - Personally, i like being on the go. I like having a busy mind or busy hands, and it takes a lot of effort (I can assure you that it is not my own efforts but God’s) that prayer just relaxes you. It reminds you that God is in control.
4. Trust - Prayer is not a means by which we get what we want. When I was younger, I had this prayer request that I really just kept praying about and I never really got. What i got was definitely better because God used a situation to strengthen my faith in Him, break some of my bad habits and sinful attitudes and use that situation to glorify Him. Also, as a kid, i have always prayed for a little brother so I can have someone to play basketball or baseball with. That prayer went unanswered, I have no siblings but God has given me a family in Christ that just is more than enough. I have younger youth who act like my little brothers and sisters and it’s great! :) A few months ago, I prayed for something and had to follow His nudging no matter how hard it was. It was definitely the hardest decision I had to make in my 24 years of life and some days are still not easy, but I’m trusting in Him on this. He is in control, no matter how much it doesn’t seem like it when you look at the turn of events.
5. Obedience - Praying the right prayers, maybe even dangerous ones require us to have obedience. Sometimes, God asks us to do something completely ‘outrageous’ for His glory. Examples in the Bible are Abraham moving from Ur to Canaan, Noah building an ark, peter walking on water, Joshua and defeating Jericho and so on and so forth. Obedience is not something we only read about in the bible, it’s something we can ask God for the grace to have. Obeying His will is not easy, sometimes it’s heartbreaking but that’s what makes it worth it; Knowing that we are made by God to glorify Him makes it quite sensible.
The importance of the right prayer? It brings us closer to the Lord. It rewards us with a heavenly perspective. It gives us peace despite the storms that happen just outside. It makes us grow in Him.
Philippians 4:6-7
