08/06/2025
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 were to ask you to kneel with me right now, how would you begin? Would you begin to pray as you have always prayed before, or would you pray about something that was occurring in your life right now? Would you follow the same regiment or order of prayer that you always have, or let go of the old and familiar by beginning to pray as if God was a newfound friend or with an intensity and expectation that you hadn’t prayed with for a long time?
“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 overly complicated, but the simple truth is that we should pray RIGHT NOW; whenever and wherever that happens to be. Let's read what the Apostle Paul said...
“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 our Heavenly Father. If we do this then each breath we take will become a prayer and our heart will rejoice as it relieves itself of whatever burden it is currently weighed down with.
So now the question becomes what we should pray for... this is a little more complex, but not too awfully much. We just need to realize that there are things we pray about, things we pray for, things we give thanks for, and praises we render; your spirit knows them all. My earlier question to you was what we should pray "for", so I will give you the answer... We should pray that the Lord provides us with perfect and complete oneness with Him. You know the words because they are scriptural… pray that He abide in us and us Him. If we know His will by doing this and our spirit understands what He wants for us, then asking Him for those other things which are burdening us becomes easy. Here are a couple of examples of what they might be...
One afternoon I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for him to come into the room and tell me if my cancer had come out of remission. 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 if it be so, show me your will in this." You see, once I know the will of God then what I should ask for is easy… His will, and that ours wouldn’t be contrary to it.
When my wife and I were newly married we spent a great deal of time with her parents. When we went 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 he ordered. She would say "I'll have what he is having." I must admit that this often aggravated me because I thought that he wasn’t giving her a choice, but later I came to understand that they had become so close and so similar in their tastes that this was truly her choice. Later, I determined that I wanted to be this close to God and Jesus so that when I am asked what I want, my response will always be... "I want what Jesus is having." In fact, that is how I pray most of the time. 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
So, 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, nor desire, is what is paramount.
So, as we go through our days in prayer, let’s discuss everything with God, and ask Him for His will to be done in our lives, then we should thank and praise Him for it. This is the one, two, three, four of prayer, (pray without ceasing, pray His will be done, thank and praise Him, and always pray in the name of Jesus) then as we continue on with our prayers always remember to ask for "what He is having!" It will always be good!
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for allowing me to pray to you and for your Holy Spirit who leads me as I talk with you all day long. Thank you for each of my answered prayers; those that were answered as I expected, those you answered in an unexpected way, and those that were answered by you who is in secret, so that I might not know what your answer to them actually was, and am encouraged to lean on you all the more in my faith. Lord, I thank you now just as I did for the small herniation in my back that was not the return of cancer I had dreaded.
Holy Father you are my constant companion, my Father, my friend, my God, and in all things, I give you thanks and praise. When I pray for various things in my life, I ask that “your will not mine be done” and that you abide in me always; I pray that those around me will see and hear my prayers just as I heard my mother-in-law when she ordered her meals and said, "I'll have what He is having." Thus, when they hear me pray those words and see the example I am setting by being Christ-like, it will lead them to understand how Jesus 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, whether bold or secret, is perfect. I trust in you always Lord, and each day I find that my trust becomes deeper and easier for me with practice. My trust and faith once took determination but now I pray without searching for the thoughts and words... you are the root of all I am, my wants, my desires, my loves, and my hopes. Praised be your name now and forevermore Abba, and I give you all the glory for answering my prayers.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah… Amen!
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6 ESV
“In that day you will know that I [Jesus] am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
John 14:20 ESV
Rich Forbes