Years ago when I attended my 25 year high school reunion, I was asked to offer the opening prayer. I think this came as a shock to a number of my classmates who had not seen me since graduation. While I had some bullet points written down on a note card, I talked to my Father the same way I normally do – very conversationally. During the evening one of my classmates, who was now a police detective, came over to me and said: “You sounded like you really knew the person you were praying to and this wasn’t the first time you had done that.” The comment caught me a little off guard, but as the evening progressed, I realized this was one of the greatest compliments I might ever receive this side of Heaven.
With that thought in mind, I am conscious that you have already developed your own approach to prayer, but I thought it might be good to spend a little time talking about your frame of mind for positioning prayer. I am not talking about HOW to pray, just where your heart should be when you enter the process. If you are like me, you may have wondered how some of the prayers were answered, why others were answered the way they were and why some were seemingly not answered at all. At this point in my life I realize that some were not answered because God wanted me to meditate, ask for advice from others, weigh my options, make a choice and then learn to live with the outcome. The consequences would be my learning experience.
Prayer should be conversational. If God has adopted you as His child, you should speak as one friend to another. We know God considered Abraham a friend (James 2:23) and Enoch and Noah walked (halak) with Him. Friends approach each other with transparency and hide nothing. They are willing to accept a friend’s direction due to honesty. God’s friends approach Him with:
- their heart (1 Kings 8:48, 2 Chronicles 6:38,, 2 Corinthians 9:14, Ephesians 1:18, 3:17)
- Sincerity (Matthew 6:6 – 7)
- A spiritual/Kingdom mindset, understanding, and truth (Psalm 145:18, John 4:23 – 24)
- Persistence (Matthew 7:7 – 11, Luke 11:5 – 10, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – 18) )
- Forgiveness of others and in harmony with your spouse (Mark 11:25, 1 Peter 3:7)
- A desire to see His will performed (1 John 5:14, Luke 22:42)
- Faith/Belief He will hear and provide (2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 21:21 – 22, 1 John 3:22)
- Confidence and Boldness (Mark 11:24, Hebrews 4:16)
The next few times you have privacy and can sit down, read through this checklist. Prepare yourself if there are outstanding issues which need resolutions. After a few times, you won’t need the list. Your Friend is waiting for you to meet your needs. You need not make Him wait any longer. Get started developing a deeper friendship.
Love Dad