Bringing Your Faith Into Focus - Day 3

Today's devotional is adapted from the Life Development Sermon Series at Lifechurch.tv by Craig Groeshel.

And 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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. Matthew 6:5

Prayer is an extremely important discipline in deepening our relationship with God. Yet, many Christians struggle with prayer. I’ve found that many of us don’t feel like praying because we’re
not sure God will answer our prayers. Others express they’re not really sure how to pray. Some, like me, tend to become bored and then feel guilty. Then, there are those who feel they should not “bother” God with what they deem insignificant requests.

Toward gaining an effective prayer life, let’s first redefine what prayer is.
The most simple and accurate definition of prayer is communicating with God. When we see prayer as nothing more or nothing less than communicating with God, we establish a foundational step to growing closer to God through prayer.

In my relationship with my wife, I can communicate in many ways. I can communicate with a look, through writing, by a grunt (although I don’t recommend this), a sigh, laughter, talking, hand gestures and by a twinkle in my eye.

The same is true with God. Communicating with God through prayer should not be limited to the spoken word. Let’s look at four different people from the Bible and learn about communicating with God through their prayer journeys:

1. Jeremiah teaches us to pray honestly. In Jeremiah 20:7 he says, “Oh Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I’m ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.” I absolutely love the honesty of Jeremiah’s prayer. He didn’t hold anything back. It’s easy to pray a hypocritical prayer when praying in front of others, wanting them to think we’re praying a spiritual prayer. When talking alone with God, we may even pray what we think He wants to hear. One of the best ways to pray is like Jeremiah prayed—that is, to pray honestly. You may say, “God, this is how I’m feeling, I don’t understand, why won’t you do something about this? God, I don’t think this is fair.” God already knows your heart, so you might as well go ahead and express it to Him.

2. David teaches us to pray creatively. In Psalm 5:1-2 he prayed, “Give ear to my words. O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you, I pray.” Notice that David prayed creatively and asked God to “consider his sighing.” Then he even referred to his sighing as prayer. He said, “…for to you, I pray.” You can pray creatively just as David did. Try writing your prayers. Pray during routine tasks, in different places or positions. Try praying by listening to God. Because prayer is communicating with God, it’s a two-way street. Be quiet and listen. You may be surprised to hear God speak.

3. Nehemiah teaches us to pray about everything. Nehemiah 2:4-5 says, “The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.’” My guess is that Nehemiah didn’t kneel down and have a long, drawn-out prayer time. Instead, he shot a
prayer up to God and believed that God cared, heard him, and gave him favor. There’s nothing too big, and nothing too small for God’s concern.

4. Hannah teaches us to pray continually. She continued to seek the Lord even when her initial prayers of requesting a child went unanswered. 1 Samuel 1:12-13 says, “…as she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.” The phrase in this verse that I love is “as she kept on praying to the Lord.” I want to keep on praying to God even when He doesn’t do what I want, when I don’t understand His response, or when I get bored and fall asleep praying.

The more I learn about prayer, the more prayer becomes an important part of my life. God wants to know you personally, and God wants you to know Him personally. Make prayer a daily part of your life.

Next Steps For Today:

• Be honest with God. He created your emotions, so you can’t shock Him. Take some time today in honest prayer to God.
• Listen. God speaks in myriad ways. Cultivate a listening ear and heart. You won’t be disappointed. Today ask God to show you how to be more sensitive to His voice.
• Remember to pray creatively. Try an unusual way of praying for you. Maybe you could write down your prayers today. Or, try praying in a different place or position.

Prayer For Today:
God, we know that Your Spirit alone can change our lives. We ask you to supernaturally change our natural desires. Please give us a new found freedom, joy, and passion in prayer. Reveal to us Your heart for our prayer lives. Please change our hearts to conform to Your heart in this area.