Translate

Bookmark and Share

Friday, April 06, 2007

KISS

I had conversations with three different people in one week on the subject of prayer and all were struggling with the idea that prayer is difficult. One even told me that she had tried giving an hour a day to prayer many years ago and blamed that for losing everything that was important to her. She gave up.

Obedience Is The Key
We have to be careful that, if we take up a challenge to prayer, it really is God's challenge to us and not our own bright idea. There is no special merit in praying for hours. To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22).

Twice in the past week I have heard prominent Christian speakers talk about a point in their lives when they believed God was calling them to prayer and fasting for an undefined length of time. Each was seeking Him for direction and determined to fast until they knew His will. The amazing thing was that in both cases they received their answer within 2 hours of beginning their fast. God may challenge us to a specific commitment in prayer but he never gives us a yoke that is too heavy for us to bear. Where there is a calling there is an equipping and that is as true in intercession as it is in any other ministry.

Keep It Simple, Saints
Prayer is not meant to be complicated or difficult. It is simply about intimacy with the Lord. The word "worship" means "to move towards in order to kiss". You may be familiar with the acronym KISS - keep it simple, stupid. I'd like to adapt that for our thoughts on prayer. Keep it simple, saint. God doesn't require lengthy, verbose or eloquent prayers. Some of those I've talked to this week have been intimidated by the prayers they've heard others pray. But I am reminded of the Jesus' teaching on prayer in Matt 6:5-8. It is the prayer from the humble in heart that God responds to.


Prayer College Assignment
Think about when you pray aloud in a group setting. Do you fall into the trap of trying to impress others with the quality of your prayers? Do you fail to pray aloud because you feel inadequate and worry what others will think? Ask the Lord to help you to pray authentically when you pray in public.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good words.