01/08/2024
Where should our prayer originate when we enter our chosen place of prayer and seek God’s presence? Is it our intellect, our spirit, our soul? Is it our posture, our language, or a certain phrase that bring us close to Him? God tells us the answer to this Himself in the book of Jerimiah when he says that we should reach out to Him with all of our heart. So if our prayers should emanate from or hearts then we must also ask ourselves a simple question… “What is the condition of my heart and relationship towards God?” To describe this we use words like lovingly, sincerely, persistently, and in purity.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places…”
Jerimiah 29:13-14
So in the time it took us to read this passage of scripture have we determined the condition of our hearts? Have we determined whether we come before our Father with a pure heart? Is the golden bowl that contains our prayers clean and fragrant, or tainted and of foul odor? Do we speak to Him with respect and in a loving tone, or do we use foul language, or flavor our prayers with the spice of doubt and insincerity? What is the condition of our hearts when we seek the Lord? Even David concerned himself with this as he prayed…
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”
Psalm 66:18-20 KJV
Our hearts are softened, consecrated, and circumcised by the relationships we have with our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ. They help us maintain them through such things as our worship, praise, obedience, and the very words we speak in prayer. Iniquity hardens our hearts, and sin separate us from God by betraying Him; having violated his commandments. All of the things that purify our hearts come to us from God through Jesus Christ, and our believing and trusting in Him as the Son of God. So, if our hearts are pure in Christ then we are prepared to join with Him in our places of prayer, and will be heard by the Lord.
God speaks and hears the language of our hearts, and in this way our conversation is universal, and translated into every language. No matter how we communicate with Him, whether English, German, Chinese, Swahili, or groans and utterances, He understands us, and we Him. All become the language of the heart and our spirits. His Holy Spirit helps us in this way.
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27
If we pray from our hearts, and keep them clean and pure in God through our belief in Jesus, then our prayers will be heard, and answered. In this way we should not be troubled in our hearts.
““Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?””
John 14:1-2 ESV
What condition are our hearts in today? Are our prayers rising up from them, or do we pray with our mouths and intellects alone?
Prayer:
Father Thank you for the heart you have given me, and for your Son Jesus Christ who has redeemed me, and has sanctified and purified it. Thank you for the prayers I am able to pray from within my heart, and for the heavenly language it speaks. I trust in you Lord to hear me when I pray, and to answer each prayer that I lift up to you in the name of Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, and great are you who loves me, and brings me into a pure and righteous relationship with you. Abba, you told me to love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, but first was with my heart. Circumcise it Lord, so that every word I speak, no matter the language I use, is pleasing and heard by you. Let your Holy Spirit guide me in my prayers and give me understanding of your Word as I pray it back to you. On the day of my final judgement I pray that you will recognize my voice, just as you recognize the voice of your Son Jesus, and will say… “I know you my son, and am well pleased.” On that day I hope to have glorified you, and received your mercy and grace as I worship and praise you forevermore. You are the love of my life, even my eternal life, as we walk together in it.
Rich Forbes