To Whom Do You Pray?

Yesterday I was invited to open the NJ Senate session in prayer. It was a privilege to stand before those men and women and ask God to lead and guide them. When I was preparing for the prayer, I prayed first for myself. I asked the Spirit of God to inspire my words so that the ‘prayer’ would not be a public speech, but would, in fact, speak to the Lord of heaven and earth on behalf of those in the Senate. (*you can read that prayer at this link https://www.facebook.com/jerscott/ .)

Jesus, knowing the temptations that come with public praying, reminds us that our best praying is done in private. He said “when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  (Matthew 5)

Do these words of Jesus mean that public prayers such as the one I offered yesterday are somehow wrong? Not at all. But, if all the praying I do is done in such settings, or in a prayer group, or at church, He knows that the deepest issues of my life will never be touched. When I desire to know the transforming power of the Spirit, when I want to know God in the most intimate way, I must meet Him alone; and I do!

Quite naturally when we are praying among other people, we will be tempted by human pride to say things we perhaps do not mean, or to try to impress others with our spiritual maturity, or even to miss the point entirely by turning our ‘prayer’ into a sermon!  That is why I ask today – to Whom do you pray?

Are you just ‘talking to yourself?’
Are you really just talking to the audience?
OR, is your true desire to commune with the Lord God, sharing your heart and life with the Spirit, open about your needs, admitting your uncertainties, and leaning hard on Him for the resources you need?

Yes, our Father tells us to bring our petitions to Him boldly. But Jesus also reminds us that if He provides for sparrows, we of much greater value than a bird, can rest assured in His care as well. Then he tells us the true focus of prayer is to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." (Matthew 6:33, NIV) A modern language text, The Message, richly amplifies His words: "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."  

Our prayers are wrapped in our relationship with our Father, shaped by His love, fed by the faith His Spirit inspires in us. So, ask yourself: “do my prayers reveal a heart and mind that is totally oriented around God, loving Him, knowing Him, serving Him?” 

This kind of humble, intimate, heart-revealing prayer, done when we are alone, should be a regular part of the Christian life. Yes, praying is a word of first importance! That is why the Word urges us to ‘pray without ceasing.’

We pray in many ways with differing purposes - formal petitions, contemplation, tears of desperation, and words of adoration.  These prayers are offered when we are alone with God. They may be urgent words spoken in the middle of life’s messes or patient waiting through times when He appears silent, or even just whispered words of worship. All these, and more, are prayer.

The one constant is that prayer is not about me or you, but about Him: about knowing Him, about learning to live in the center of His will. Prayer, rightly focused, enables us to ‘understand what God is doing and how we can join with Him. Thus, we become co-participants with God. His will sets everything in motion. Our will, directed by prayer, allows us to participate in His purposes.” (Longing For God, Foster, IVP, 2008)

Make that when you pray, you are speaking with the God of Heaven, asking for the best things, ready to receive what HE provides, and trusting Him to hold you and those for whom you pray, near to His heart.

I close with a word from the Word that I find comforting. God, the Spirit, promises to guide us in prayer! Mediate on this passage for few moments, then go to prayer. How I love this promise - "The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." (Romans 8:26-27, NLT)

Amen

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(Video of this blog at this link)

What to do with your anxious heart

Have you awakened at  2 am, heart racing, mind whirling, full of worry about something in your life? That is anxiety! Have you felt that life is at the edge of falling apart, pulled in several directions at the same time by competing responsibilities, so tense that you cannot rest? That is anxiety! Have you tried to wind down in the evening only to find your mind unable to stop, stuck in that awful encounter with someone earlier in the day? That is anxiety!

Everyone worries about someone or something at least occasionally. About one out of three people experience anxiety in a way that that find carrying on with daily life almost impossible. Telling an anxious person to “settle down” or to just “get over it” is like telling the ocean waves to stop but, there are ways to manage anxiety, to retrain our thoughts so that we are not overwhelmed or controlled by it.

God’s Word speaks often to the subject, teaching Christ’s followers how to live in peace. There is no instant cure, like throwing a switch on a light. It is a learned way of life, which becomes a pattern when we practice the choices that defeat the awful miseries of anxious thoughts.

Jesus says “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God ^above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “ So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  (Matthew 6)

What does HE teach us about anxiety?

1.       We defeat anxiety by keeping our priorities right.

Our lives are more than our stuff, our position, our houses, or the balance in our bank account. We must not dismiss His counsel that God cares and provides! How easily do we slip into the attitude that our security is all up to us, don’t we? Yes, we must be responsible about how we use our resources, but no amount of tossing and turning in the night will make a difference.

2.       We defeat anxiety by building faith.

Many feel as though faith is something that falls on us out of nowhere or that it is the special ability of a few people who have learned some esoteric spirituality. In fact, faith comes by practice, by choice, and is made stronger when practiced. We can focus on our perceived lack, on our disappointment, on the uncertainties of our existence – and these are real issues – or Jesus says we can bring to mind the goodness of God, the way that HE provides even for the creatures around us.

Turn off the cable news channel instead of fretting about the state of the world.
Read the Scripture’s assurance – “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” (Psalm 23)
Pray, even if it is just a whispered “Jesus, be near,” that shapes your meditation.
Walk with others who love God and let their faith infect you!

3.       Do right things, godly things.

Anxiety is often accompanied with temptation! We may want to blame someone for what is wrong. We may want to spend money, eat too much, sleep the day away, or find some distraction in things that will ultimately hurt us. Jesus says, “seek the kingdom of God first and live righteously.” 

Sometimes we can only make that choice just for that moment or that day. But choosing God’s way allows the peace of the Spirit to own our mind and heart.

My friend, we can defeat anxiety. Peace is your birthright as God’s child! Ultimately, this peace of God comes from peace with God and that is His gift of grace. Put yourself in His hands. Accept His offer of reconciliation with your Father in Heaven. Let Him be Lord of life.

Here is a word from the Word. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV)  Amen.

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(Video of this blog at this link)