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| Thoughts on Prayer | May 11, 2010 |
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Greetings!
A friend called the other day asking if I had received an email he sent earlier in the week. The email wasn't in my inbox so I searched my "spam catcher" and found his email securely stored. When I notified my friend he was disappointed that his email was labeled as spam. No one likes spam and no one likes their communication being labeled as spam.
Spam is unsolicited email that is usually sent in bulk. Spam is unwanted and usually a waste of time. Spam can insert a virus in your computer and cause a multitude of problems on a network. Most companies, like Covenant, have instituted "spam filters" to catch unwanted email and place it in quarantine or destroy it. Once an email is in quarantine, it remains there until the user reviews the email and decides it is safe.
This week I have been reflecting on prayer and it came to mind that God must have some sort of "prayer filter" that He uses to catch prayer that is unwanted gibberish or unsolicited spam. I found support in God's Word. Matthew 6:7 reads,
"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."
It is scripture like Matthew 6 that begs the question, "Does God view some prayer as spam?" Are there times when our prayer is "babbling" to God? I believe there is. On the other hand, there is much prayer that is an offering to God and a declaration of our dependence upon Him.
So, how can we align our heart to God and seek His will, His ways and His help through prayer that passes the Spam filter? |
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Keys to Prayer
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
~ John 15:5-8 ~
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
~ 1 John 3:21-22 ~ |
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| Getting past the Spam and into His Presence
In John 15 and 1 John 3, the apostle John instructs followers of Jesus to 1) Abide in Jesus, 2) Ask God for help through prayer; and, 3) Have confidence when asking if you are living in obedience and God's will. These are three conditions of "non-Spam" prayer.
The first condition is abiding in Jesus. Abiding in Jesus means living in and through His power, love and grace. When we abide in Jesus we are stating we are under new ownership ... we are God's. Abiding in Jesus is living in the power of the Holy Spirit and not our flesh. Abiding in Jesus is living through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not the world. When we abide in Jesus we have confidence to seek God's will and ways because we are in deep relationship with the One we are asking.
The second condition of non-spam prayer is simply asking God for help, direction and peace. When we ask God to meet our need in prayer we are declaring His ability and our lack. We are coming stating "I have nothing" to the God of "so much more" ( Luke 11:5-11). When we pray and seek Him first, we are giving God a chance to act before our friends, doctors, counselors, etc. When we simply ask, we bring God glory and declare dependence upon Him and not self.
The last condition of non-spam prayer is asking in confidence. To keep prayer out of God's Spam Box and in His presence we need to abide in Jesus, ask through prayer and ask with confidence that God will hear and answer for His glory and our best interest. To pray in this manner, we must leave all pre-conceived notions regarding the outcome to God. This means we pray specifically yet understand that God is in control and His answer is always best. Ask in confidence of the God that answers and not in the answer!
So, what does this all mean? Why pray if God is going to do what He wants anyway? We pray because that is what we do as followers of Jesus. We pray because we know "whose we are". We pray because God has called us out of the world, out of "self" and into relationship. We prayer to establish, maintain and deepen our relationship with a great God.
Remember, the reality and joy of prayer is a deeper relationship with Jesus. If you pray to deepen relationship with Jesus your prayers will never hit the Spam box. |
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For King and Kingdom,
Randy Martin |
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