08/06/2017
When should we pray? Do we even know what to pray for? These sound like easy questions to answer and indeed one of them is... do you know which one? If I asked you to kneel with me right now, how would you begin?
“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
John 16:26-27 ESV
I told you that one of the questions I asked was an easy one to answer, have you selected one? Well, here is the answer... The easiest is "When should we pray." I have heard sermons where this was over complicated but the simple truth is RIGHT NOW; whenever and wherever that happens to be. Let's read what the Apostle Paul says...
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
This sounds simple and it is. There should not be a thought in our head or an action we take that doesn't include Jesus and the Father. Our every breath is thus a prayer.
So now the question of what we should pray for... this is a little more complex, but not much. We just need to realize that there are things we pray about, things we pray for, and praises we render. My question to you was what we should pray "for", so I will tell you the answer... We should pray for God to a provide us with a perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we understand what God wants for us then asking Him for those things becomes easy. Here are a couple of examples...
Two days ago I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for him to come into the room and tell me if my cancer had returned. I was praying silently as I waited, and although I didn't want to hear the words I dreaded most "you have another tumor", I was praying the same prayer that I prayed during my first encounter with cancer... "Lord, I don't want this thing, but show me your will in this." Once I know the will of God then what I should ask for is easy. Here it is...
When my wife and I were young we spent a great deal of time with her parents. When we would go out to dinner with them my father-in-law would order, and more times than not my mother-in-law would have the exact same thing. She would say "I'll have what he is having." I must admit that this often aggravated me because I thought she didn't have a choice, but later I came to understand that they had become so close and so similar in taste that this was truly her choice.
I want to be so close to God and Jesus that when I am asked what I want, my response will always be... "I want what He is having." In fact, that is how I pray. Are you beginning to understand? This is the very lesson Jesus taught us in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed these words...
“And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.”
Luke 22:41-43 ESV
... and if we are praying as we should then that lesson which so painfully led to the passion of Christ will be our guide. God's will, not our comfort, is what is paramount.
As we go through our day praying, discuss everything with God, ask Him for His will to be done in our lives, then thank and praise Him for it. This is the one, two, three, of prayer, but always remember to ask for "what He is having!"
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for prayer, and for allowing me to talk with you all day long. I thank you for all of the answered prayers; those that were answered as I expected, those you answered in an unexpected way, and those that were answered in such a way that I might never know your answer to them. Dear Lord I thank you for the small herniation in my back that was not the return of cancer we had dreaded. Holy Father you are my constant companion , my friend, my God, and in all things I give you thanks and praise. When I pray for things in my life I ask that your will not mine be done; I pray that those around me hear my prayers just as my mother-in-law ordered her meals... "I'll have what He is having." Because Father, when they hear those words and see the example of Jesus in me it leads them to understand how He taught us to pray, and how we should put His lessons into practice in our lives. You are great in every way, and your will for me is perfect. I trust in you always Lord, and each day I find that my trust becomes easier and easier with practice. It once took determination, but now comes without conscious thought... you are the root of all I am, my wants, my desires, my loves, and my hopes. Praised be your name.
Rich Forbes