The Primary Principal Of Prayer
Is it getting what we want or getting what God wants? Seven Prayers from Psalms we pray for ourselves
It’s been said that God talks to us through His word - the Bible, and that we talk to God through our praying. The primary means God has ordained for we humans to communicate to Him is by praying.
This isn’t just saying words in the air, throwing it out into the universe, or even just talking to ourselves. Instead it is spending time talking to the Eternal, Living, Almighty, Uncreated Creator of Heaven and Earth, who is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18)
We can talk to God, using words aloud or just our silent thoughts. We can pray directly passages in the Bible; we can also pour our heart out, we can weep, moan, groan, or praise and shout. All these ways are acceptable to our heavenly Father when we come in humility to Him. The more frequently we do this, the more we fellowship, or commune, with the Living, Loving Lord. To commune with is to abide in, or spend time and focus on; our energy and attention is purposefully devoted to giving attention to the Lord.
It’s similar to spending time with a loved one, someone we are in close relationship with: we devote time, energy and attention to them. Prayer time is relationship time with Christ our Savior, with God our King, and Friend.
We are told to cast all our cares on the Lord for He cares for us, but our prayers are not only for getting our felt needs met. Or just getting something from the Lord as if He is a big vending machine in the sky, handing out goodies when we punch the right buttons. Not that asking for those physical, tangible things are bad, but these are not the main things we should be in prayer about. What we can ask of God is so much more than that!
You see, the primary principal of prayer is our getting to know God—through praying His word we are learning to trust Him, wait on Him, and lean on Him, so we develop greater faith, deeper humility, and continual dependence. This is growing in Christ toward the maturity or completeness Epaphras was laboring in prayer for.
Seven things from the Psalms we can pray for ourselves this week:
Almighty, Loving Father, I pray:
That I would delight in the law (word) of the Lord and be like a tree planted by water that yields fruit in season – Psalm 1
That I would be one who ascends the hill of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart – Psalm 24
That You would guard my ways and my mouth that I might not sin with my tongue (my words) – Psalm 39
That Your light and truth would lead me to Your holy dwelling place – Psalm 43
That I would be washed, purified, cleaned, restored to have truth and wisdom in my innermost part – Psalm 51
That You would teach me to number my days rightly, that I may apply a heart of wisdom – Psalm 90
That You would search me, know my heart and every wicked way – and lead me in the way everlasting – Psalm 139
Amen.
Until Monday, grace and peace