Pray. Really—Pray!

ALL – Psalm 70:1-5
ALL – Proverbs 24:8
OT – Isaiah 54:1-57:14
NT – Ephesians 6:1-24

Interesting passage for the day: Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. – Ephesians 5:4, The Living Bible

Thought: Prayer is harder for me, in some ways, than Bible study. When I’m studying the Bible, I always know exactly where my reading for the day is supposed to begin and end. If I have a question, I do some research until I think I have the answer. I can consult with “experts.” Even if I’m not sure exactly what’s right, I can at least get to the point where I have a lot better an understanding of all the perspectives I should be thinking through.

But with prayer, it’s a lot harder to feel like I’ve made progress. Sometimes I struggle to come up with words to say. When I do, I might be stumbling over myself. Even if I set a goal of praying for a certain number of minutes, I find that I struggle to fill them all with actual prayer. My mind gets distracted. The time goes by, and I’ve managed a sentence of prayer.

Perhaps that’s because I often don’t bring God my needs, but my wishes. I don’t take time to confess my true heart to God. I ask God to help me finish up the day’s business, but my prayer time is distracted time because my mind is so worked up about getting back to the day’s business.

Instead of just asking God to help me with my tasks, perhaps I need to pray more about Him changing the way my heart rebels against doing some of them. Instead of merely asking God to help my kids learn to be quiet (for once!), perhaps I need to pray more about Him teaching me patience, about Him leading me in being a good father to them, and about Him getting their full attention so that they grow in understanding that sometimes their volume bothers other people. Instead of praying just to pray, perhaps I should be praying so that I get to know my heavenly Father better and so that He changes my heart, my behaviors, my thinking, my speech—me. And as I get to know my own needs better—my need to be more like Jesus, not just my need to have a good day—perhaps my prayers for others will be deeper and more intentional and focused, too.

Father, help me to pray to You sincerely, exposing and confessing my deepest daily needs. Help me to see my need for a heart that grows steadily more Christlike. Help me to recognize that I’m not the most patient man in the world, and to pray about it. Help me to understand that getting my tasks done doesn’t mean that I’m a success in Your book, and to pray about it. Teach me to pray in a way that honors You, that really seeks You and finds You, that taps into my real needs and weaknesses and comes to You for my every provision and strength.

Question: Do you struggle with prayer sometimes, too? What helps you to turn to God for an extended time of honest prayer?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.