“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus walked the walk of the life of prayer and it was recorded:
Luke 5:15,16: “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.”
Jesus walked many miles on some days and spoke and ministered to great numbers. No doubt He became weary of so much for so many. This is one of the reasons Jesus went off by Himself to pray but what else could have been in the prayers of Jesus? Besides a time of refreshing and praying for His workers, what else could Jesus have been thinking in prayer?
1 John 4:19 says we love because God loves us first. First and foremost, God loves us.
Speaking as the father of five children, three living and two with God, the sweetest time is when my children come to me and seek me out to talk alone with me. Sometimes, yes, they ask for a favor or have a problem and a father always has time to listen. It is the sweetest time when they simply want to listen or just sit and watch the sky be the sky. The knowledge that they just want to be alone with me, I have to admit, is the greatest thing a father can ask for.
How often do we consider what God gets from prayer? If we considered this even a little we would not have so many people with such poor self images. Why? We say that God is love but how often do we sit and meditate on that love? If we go before God in prayer and always realize how much JOY God gets from our being with Him-after we have been totally truthful in confession before Him-how God's heart swells for us-would we not realize more and more of God's infinite love for us?
I can speak only from an earthly father's shallow understanding and experience; how infinitely more this must mean to God. He gave His only son so we could be with Him. How human for us to take it so lightly.
We complain for the lack of rain and the sickness or loss of friends; we ask God to make our country whole and to rid us of social unrest and He hears it all.
How often have we stopped to wonder what God is thinking while we pray? His heart is always loving us as we cry out in grief and pain. His heart always loves us as we blame Him for the drought. His love for us remains infinite as we ask God why He has let some disaster happen.
After all that, how much God must treasure our simple attention. How much He must joy over our silence as we learn to be still and enjoy His righteous, holy presence.
Think about this, please. Think less about what we get out of prayer and more of what brings God His 'good pleasure'. Think about those times when Jesus went off to lonely places. God did not choose for any of those prayers to be recorded. Those were times of great joy and peace for Christ Jesus and His Father.
Those times of great joy and peace await all of us but no person can look forward to those times as much as our Heavenly father.
Next time you pray, ask yourself, "What did God get from this?"
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for not considering Your heart for me while I pray. Thank You for Your infinite love.
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