Passionate Prayer
Do
you love Me more than these?
John 21:15
Prayer is simply communication with God. It is two-directional - man
to God and God to man.
Everybody prays,
both Christians and not-yet-Christians. To say that God only answers
the prayers of Christians or the righteous ones can be very
shortsighted and narrow-minded. All the peoples of the earth are His
creation. Our Father in heaven causes His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous
(Matthew 5:45). God has revealed His glory to all men and shown it
clearly to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible
attributes are clearly seen and being understood by the things that
are made (Romans 1:18-21). Since the days of Genesis, God
perpetually spoke to men. He even spoke to pagan and evil kings like
Nebuchadnezzar, returning him understanding and sanity (Daniel
4:34-37).
As Christians,
we recognize our dependence upon our Creator. As His children, we
are forever grateful and thankful for His daily blessings bestowed
upon us! Prayer is not just asking God for things, for money, for
needs, for answers, for directions in life, for guidance, for
healing, for deliverance, for this or for that. Prayer is more than
all of these. Prayer is enjoying holy communion and sweet fellowship
with God. That’s why the psalmist said that it was a great delight
to be with Him. Many people find that spending time with God in
prayer is dull and boring. Many more think that praying is a waste
of time. They dread to pray. They rather take matters into their own
hands and try to make things happen!
Some try to
impress God in their prayers. Some try to manipulate Him. Very
often, their prayers are futile repetitions of Christian phrases and
jargons. God looks at the heart of man. It is the motives that God
is interested in, not the motions! Even the worst undecipherable
words of babies are understood by their Father in heaven. And the
mute had their prayers heard and answered!
Prayer is a very
enjoyable encounter. It is lovely to be with a loving Father Who
cares for us and shares with us. A Father Who knows our needs even
before we ask Him. Our Heavenly Father is not a policeman who is
ceaselessly on patrol trying to catch any person who does wrong. Our
God is not like that. He seeks the fellowship of man who delights to
be with Him.
It is impossible
for sinful men to connect and reach God. It is God, in His grace and
mercy, Who takes the initiative to connect with us. Unless God
connects with us, our prayers are in vain. It is like trying to talk
over the phone when the line is not yet connected. Without
connecting, there is no possible communication! Upon connection, we
can reach out and touch the Father’s heart. We can get to taste His
divine love.
When God
connects with us, we must connect with Him. God desires to shower
His love upon us. Unless we receive His love, we are not able to
reciprocate His love or love Him back! We love Him because He first
loved us (I John 4:19). Whenever we tell the Lord that we love Him,
we must also allow Him time and opportunity to tell us that He loves
us! Love is mutual!
In times of
prayer, we must wait to hear His voice. That’s why praying without
ceasing is possible (1Thes 5:17). Praying is a conversation with
God. We speak, we wait and He speaks! Waiting is part of the praying
process! As God is omnipresent, we are in His presence continually!
We are never alone! We see Him everywhere we go! Even in our sleep,
we can pray! Very often, God speaks to us in dreams and visions!
Adam got his prayer for a help mate answered when God put him to
sleep.
In Luke
18:1-8, there is this parable about persistency in prayer. There was
a city judge, a very godless man, who had great contempt for
everyone. A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for
justice against a man who had caused her harm. The judge ignored her
for a while. But eventually she got on his nerves. Though the judge
feared neither God nor man, what this widow did really bothered him.
She was wearing him out, pleading non-stop. The judge finally gave
in to her. She got the justice she requested.
God is more
loving and just than this godless judge! If He answers the prayers
of a persistent widow, how much more He will answer the prayers of
His passionate Bride! There is a new move of God all over the world
– a Bridal Paradigm! The Church has been a widow for far too long -
wallowing, weeping and wandering. Jesus is coming back for a
glorious Bride who is perfected, pastoral and passionate!
Besides
persistency in prayer, God is looking for true passion – people who
truly loves to be with Him, not only in words but also in deeds. God
does not require our lip services telling how much we love Him when
our hearts are not! He requires us to love Him with all of our
heart, all of our soul and all of our mind (Matthew 22:37).
Without
knowing what God requires can hinder our prayers from becoming
effective. Because of our ignorance and lack of understanding in
approaching God, sometimes our prayers may turn adversely to become
abominations to the LORD (Proverb 28:9). God rewards prayers not
according to the words of our mouths but according to the works of
Jesus Christ. Our basis for a rewarding relationship and fellowship
with God is firmly founded upon the Rock of our Salvation, Christ
Jesus. He had laid and paved the Way for us to come boldly before
the Father (John 14:6).
Because God is
holy and just, His Sovereign love does not permit Him to grant every
petition just as it is asked. Like a loving Father, He knows what is
best for us. He hears and answers our prayers in the way that will
best benefit others and us. Sometimes no answer can be the best
answer. God does not practice favoritism. We should not think that
we would always have success in obtaining the things for which we
have asked. When we pray, we leave the decision to Him. He always
provides the best answers.
Sometimes we
trade God’s best for something lesser. Sometimes we ask amiss
lusting after things that are contrary to His character and
righteousness. But God has promised to answer our requests:
- When we
start helping the hungry and afflicted (Isaiah 58:9-10)
- When we
believe that we will receive what we ask (Mark 11:22-24)
- When we
forgive others (Mark 11:25-26)
- When we ask
in Christ's name (John 14:13-14)
- When we
abide in Christ and His words (John 15:7)
- When we
pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18)
- When we
obey the Lord's commandments (1 John 3:22)
- When we ask
according to His will (1 John 5:14-15).
However, there
are several hindrances to answered prayer:
- Iniquity in
the heart (Psalm 66:18)
- Refusal to
hear God's law (Proverbs 28:9)
- An
estranged heart (Isaiah 29:13)
- Sin (Isaiah
59:2)
- Waywardness
(Jeremiah 14:10-12)
- Offering
unworthy sacrifices (Malachi 1:7-9)
- Spiritual
pride wanting to be seen of men (Matthew 6:5-6)
- Spiritual
bribery such as fasting and tithing (Luke 18:11-14)
- Lack of
faith (Hebrews 11:6)
- Doubt or double-mindedness (James 1:6-8)
Whenever
we pray, we must be ready to be offered as living sacrifices upon
the altar of God. The very answers to our prayers may be the very
ones praying. Unless we are ready to be blessings to others and
ourselves, we cannot expect God or others to bless us. We must be
willing to be vessels ready for the Lord’s use. The praying Bride
has passion for her Bridegroom and people! Whenever we pray for
missions and evangelism, we must be willing to give and go!
Those who spend
time in prayer with God will become more like Him. Those who have
tasted that the Lord is good will become more loving, more joyful,
more peaceful, more patient, more kind, more good, more faithful,
more gentle and more self-controlled.
The best way to
pray is through praise and worship. Reading through the Psalms will
give us some insights on how the psalmists prayed. With songs upon
the musical instruments, they sang their prayers to the Lord!
In
prayers of worship, we recognize Who is of the highest worth – God
Himself! Not ourselves or others or other things. The Divine Being
deserves our undivided devotion, respect and attention. The
awareness of God's holiness will lead to the consciousness of our
own sinfulness. We are unclean and undone! In prayers of confession,
we acknowledge our sins and ask for His forgiveness! In prayers of
praise, we express what is in our innermost beings! Deep calls unto
the deep - our utmost for His Highest! Highly esteemed and greatly
loved! Almighty God!
In prayers of
adoration, we love Him dearly. The greatest desire of God is that we
love Him with our whole being (Matthew 22:37). Our love should be
expressed, as His has been expressed, in both deeds and words.
People sometimes find it difficult to say to others and to God, "I
love you (You)." But when the love of God floods our souls, we can
tell Him how much we love Him. His love will flow out of our hearts
so that we are able to love others also! Loving God, loving
ourselves and loving our neighbours!
In prayers of
supplication, we make our requests known. In prayers of
intercession, we engage in spiritual warfare. In prayers of
thanksgiving, we are thankful for receiving what we do not deserve!
Some of us are unthankful because we think that we have not received
what we deserve. We forget that we deserve punishment and death!
Instead, God gives us grace, mercy and life! With this in mind, we
can give Him thanks in everything at all times - in the good and
also bad times.
Praying
with all kinds of prayers at all times, we will have true passion
for God and the peoples of the earth. Our love will grow in breadth,
and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ! We will
glow in the fullness of God. And all these fervent prayers of His
passionate Bride will avail much!
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary