Sometimes when I hear others pray out loud so eloquently, I think I wish my prayers sounded that good. That's really not the point of prayer tho but more importantly for it to be sincere and from the heart. Isaiah 29; 13 ''“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'' God desires expressions of devotion from the heart and hates empty ritual.
Our prayers must be genuine conversations with God. Even when we don't have the words to express ourselves, He hears the cries of our hearts. Isn't it good that we can come to our Father freely and at anytime for confession or just to talk?
Psalm 17;6 ''I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.''
'Prayer is trading our worries for His wisdom, our pain for His peace and our confusion for His confidence.'
It bothers me when people are praying to God but they spend more time preaching a sermon to the people around them. But then, I think I may have been guilty of that a time or two myself :)
ReplyDeleteI always worried about how I could ever pray without ceasing until I realized that it means to be in tune with God continually, not just talking to Him but listening for His "still small voice" as well.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your last sentence....such a comfort and so encouraging. I like Gloria's response too....many times we just need to be quiet and listen. Love you, T.
ReplyDeleteI love Tozer's quote. I think for me, that is all to often what I need to do...just pray!
ReplyDelete