Submitted by Pastor Bill Burnham
Are You Still Wasting Your Time in Prayer?
Just a Thought: Are you still wasting your time praying? Many do this every day. They spend their time in prayer, praying for the things they already have. Prayers like, “Oh God send us Your Spirit!” He already did, go back and read Acts 2. Or “Oh God go before us.” He told us He would in Matt. 28:20. Or “Oh God be with us.” Where else would He be, He is omnipresent. Or “Oh God, I need Your strength.” You already have it according to Phil. 4:13. We spend a lot of wasted time in prayer because as Paul said, “we don’t know how or for what to pray (Rom. 8:26). We need to learn how and for what to pray so we can have more effective prayers lives. The disciples understood there was power in prayer, but they didn’t know how or for what to pray either so, Jesus taught them a formula for praying in Matt 6:9-13 “”This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (Acknowledge your relationship with God and adore Him, praise His name) Getting to know your Father’s names will teach you about His character and help you see your problems are no match for your Father. “…your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Recognize God has a perfect will about everything, and when we pray, we are seeking to do His will, not get Him to do ours. Seek to understand His will and where He is working so you can join Him in fulfilling His will.) “…Give us today our daily bread.” (Acknowledging all things come from God’s hand to mine, not to own, but to be thankful for, and to be a wise steward of. Take nothing you have for granted; it is all provided by Him for your daily care.) “…Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Confessing our sins and offenses to God draws us closer to Him, and forgiving others makes us mindful of the daily grace we need and receive) “…And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” (Remind yourself and God daily, you have a desperate need for Him, His power in you and His deliverance of you from your daily struggles; especially those struggles that come from within.) We always pray in Jesus’ name, not because it is some kind of code, but because “…there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Tim 2:5) Are you still wasting your time praying? You don’t need to; let Jesus teach you the way to pray and for what to pray for today.
