**Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. ** Psalm 17:1
Sincerity in prayer is key. God is not looking for us to talk to Him out of obligation or religious duty. He is not asking us to talk to Him to stroke His ego.
Prayer is meant for our good, to build our faith as we see the Lord answer our requests. Those affirmative answers reinforce our belief that He exists, He hears, He cares, He loves, and He encourages. And that creates a greater desire to spend time talking to Him about all that is important to us.
As our understanding of prayer matures, we begin to share more of our deeper needs. Needs of the heart. Our damaged emotions and thoughts. That is where the real answers begin because we are inviting Him to
Change us
Heal us
Transform us
Now things really get exciting! We are learning to trust Him. Depend on Him. Seek his presence, his company and his love every day. Then we grow in faith some more. Now we seek Him hourly, minute by minute and we are changing more, we resist less and He fills us in ways we never knew.
It is no longer our required time in prayer. It is not out of feigned lips. There is no falseness. No pretending before Him.
It is heartfelt. Open. Transparent. There are no barriers between us and Him. We speak, He listens, He speaks and we listen.
Our prayer time transforms into something…
Comforting
Healing
Completing
And that is something
beautiful,
eternal
joyful.
So, don’t just talk to God, dumping your day in His lap, but listen for His still, small voice answering and affirming His love and concern for you. It will fill you with His peace.
**And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. ** 1 John 5:15
If you enjoy worship music as part of your prayer time, I love the song “Word of God speak” by Mercy Me. It helps me to remember that God continues our conversation in my daily reading. May it bless you as it does me.