How Do We Pray?
How do YOU pray?
Verse of the Day
‘But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.’
Today’s Devotional
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:5-8)
Jesus is teaching us that our motive in prayer should never be done with the intent of impressing others, and that we do not need mindless repetition. The interesting thing is that God knows what we need before we ask Him, but He still wants us to pray. About everything. That tells me that God is more interested in a relationship.
Think about your closest human relationship. Mine is with my husband. How do you communicate with your closest person? What would it look like if I only talked to my husband using the exact same words and phrases everyday? What if I had a formula for how I talked to him? What if I had a script that I used? That kind of communication would not lead to a very deep, meaningful relationship.
Over the next few days, we will look at the Lord’s Prayer, but for today, let’s think about our prayer life and how it reflects where we are in our relationship with the Father. Can you talk to Him about anything and everything? Can you praise Him as holy and mighty and also bring your most tender needs and requests to Him? Are you being obedient to what Jesus is teaching here and going to a private place to talk to God, just you and Him? God wants me to pray because it changes my heart, not the circumstances I am praying about. And I need all the help with my heart that I can get.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What do you need to talk to God about today?
What is one step you can take today to improve your ability or willingness to have an open and honest dialogue with God?
If prayer is a struggle for you, are you willing to ask for God to help you to learn to communicate with Him?