The Right Things

If you haven't read my last post, click HERE and read it first.

This entire week, I will focus my posts on the issue of prayer. Much of this is coming from what God is teaching me personally, so I invite you to learn along with me. However, please know it will be uncomfortable. It will probably radically challenge your preconceived notions on prayer, but in the end, it will create a whole new perspective on prayer that's biblical and pleasing to God.

I firmly believe based on God's Word there are some situations we deal with in life that simply won't be resolved or clarified until we have truly committed "it" to prayer. Today, I want to get you thinking about the whole concept of prayer, and how I believe we undervalue and misuse it within our American church culture today.

In so many ways, prayer has become a time for us to bring our list of wants and needs before God rather than a moment where we encounter the presence of the living God and ask for His direction. For me, this is often my problem... My prayers are more like invitations for God to join me in what I'm doing instead of an act of submission on my part to better understand His plan for my day and life.

In most churches, prayer has been forgotten, misused, and misplaced. We often spend most of our time praying for God to maintain the mundane when we should be praying for God to expand, change, break, and use us for His glory! We have even made prayer to be a transition piece in our worship services when it ought to be an opportunity for us to completely turn our attention towards the sovereign God. Prayer shouldn't be used an an opportunity to clear the stage, but instead, it should be a time for us to clear our minds to better know His will.

The reason we may feel like God isn't answering our prayers is because we are praying for things that aren't necessarily most important to Him. When was the last time you prayed for God to use you during your day to lead someone towards Christ? Can you remember the last time you prayed for someone (by their name) who is unchurched? You see, God's top priority is redeeming His creation, not maintaining our lives and churches.Yes, God cares about us deeply, and He wants to provide for us, but if we miss the fact that God is first and foremost concerned about how we can be used within His Kingdom, then we are setting ourselves up for a great disappointment.

So, think about your prayer life. No, we don't have to use fancy words, bow our heads, or close our eyes in order to "properly" pray, but we do need to make sure that we understand what's on the heart of God. When we begin to pray in line with His desires instead of ours, we will begin to experience God in a whole new way!