“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” Ezekiel 36:26 Do you struggle with prayer, not knowing why you pray or what you must pray? Are you only praying out of obedience? Do you often wonder if God is listening to you? Do you desire a more interactive relationship with God? May I suggest that you are not alone in this area as many struggle to pray. In Luke’s gospel, we are told that Jesus’ disciples approached Him and asked Him to teach them to pray as John had taught his disciples (Luke 11:1). This is an unusual request for men who were raised in a culture of prayer. They had learnt to pray but unknowing may have spent much of their prayer life just saying words. Perhaps they were not connecting with God and we just men speaking and using the words of men. The disciples were aware of Jesus’ prayer habits and they also seemed to know something about the prayers of John’s followers. They wanted to connect with God but recognized they were not and so they turned to Jesus. They acknowledged that something was missing in their own prayer life. When Jesus prayed there sensed something was different and they may have heard it in His words or seen it in His physical presence. They had witnessed the heart of God connecting with the heart of God and desired such a relationship. Today we start our July prayer calendar by praying for ourselves. But let’s not pray for our needs but let’s pray for change; change in the way we connect with God. We have been taught that when we pray, we should let our hearts take over and let the words flow from it. However, if we do not understand the heart of God, we will not pray with His heart but with our own and unfortunately, the human heart is only capable of speaking words that humans speak. We must pray with God’s heart because only then can we see the needs of our family, friends and neighbours. Without His heart our prayers will be tainted by our human bias and perceptions. Those who have chosen to be a follower of Christ have the ability to pray with God’s heart but we can not automatically assume we know God’s heart. If we want to change our hearts to align with God’s we must copy the disciples’ example and ask God to teach us to pray. One of the best ways to learn His heart is to read His Word and pray it back to Him. As you start this journey, consider reading and praying the 23rd Psalm and reflect on what God’s heart is saying to you and then offer it back to Him in prayer. May our hearts and lives be changed by God’s love for us
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:36:49 +0000
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