Pray From The Heart

February 3, 2021

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

~Matthew 6:5~

Have you ever struggled and wondered how you "should be praying?" Have you ever thought you didn't have the right words or you couldn't memorize scripture well to use in prayer? I have good news for you my friend, you dont have to. In fact, Jesus tells us in this verse not to pray the way the hypocrites or religious folks do. You know the ones who focus on being noticed by men rather then noticed by God. When we try to get too fancy with our words we end up praying in just that, words. We are not truely praying from our heart when we do this. For we know what we truely feel, God knows what we truely feel. We are not being genuine when we are praying words someone else may have prayed or praying a scripture with a shaky voice beneath it. This shows that we lack confidence in ourself and in our God. Jesus tells us we do not have to stand in front of others to show we are "sophisticated" to pray to God. Anyone can pray to Him. He loves all of us and He wants our hearts. "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

(Matthew 6:6)

Jesus tells us He wants privacy with us, just like with any relationship you want to get away alone together and just talk. He promises our Father will reward us openly when doing so. If we stand as the hypocrites do, the Lord says they already have their reward. It will be far greater for us when we pour out our hearts in secret. Jesus knows each of us already, there is nothing we can do to fool Him into thinking we are someone else. " “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you...” (Jeremiah 1:5)

This includes the way we speak. Jesus knows what we desire before we even pray for it. "Lord , You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear." (Psalms 10:17)

The Lord waits for us to humble ourselves to Him, as we come praying from deep within our hearts we are being honest and He will exalt us in due time.

"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

When we become prideful in our prayers like the Pharisees were, we will be resisted by God. When we humble ourselves as a mere child of God, needing His help and affection, His grace will surround us. He is faithful and just to do as He says. We cannot worry about how we are to pray as if there is a certain formula to seeking God. We all are uniquely made by Him. Just as our fingerprints are each different from eachothers, so shall our prayer life be; unless we are praying over a brother or sister in the same manner someone else is. When it comes to our needs, just reach down in the depths of your heart and give it to Him the exact way you feel it. This is exactly what David did. He was a man who had a genuine relationship with the Lord. He didnt care about impressing others, in fact he was rejected many times by them. However, God always took his cares from him whether it was out of anger, sadness or complete despair. He was with David throughout, for David was honest with God in prayer. He was also private. In times of despair David confided truthfully; "For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave."

(Psalms 88:3)

In times of loneliness; "My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”

(Psalms 42:3)

In times of praise; "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth."

(Psalms 47:1‭-‬2)

David knew, there shall be nothing hidden from God. He is the only way out of a mess and the only reward worth receiving is from God in His timing as we come before Him just as we would with our best friend or our spouse. Be honest. Be truthful. Speak exactly what is on your mind. The devil wants us to believe that God will not listen unless we pray a specific way, but my friends the devil is a liar! Everything we feel that is condemning as believers, comes from satan. Jesus doesn't condemn; "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."(John 3:17)

When we are following Jesus in Spirit and coming to His throne in faith with an open heart to Him we can receive our answered prayers humbly as He has mercy upon us. The greatest part about it is even the prayers we do not speak He hears us; "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26)

If we are unable to know how to fully pray the Holy Spirit is there to help us. God is so loving He makes it possible for anyone to come to Him. Do not let the devil lie to you, go to God with your whole heart and believe in what you ask He will do; " Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24)

He will come through and your faith will increase. We will feel the closeness of God and the relationship will be something unlike anything we could have in the natural.

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for loving me so deeply, for giving me a way through Your precious Son to pray to You whenever I need You. I am grateful that all You want is an honest relationship with me and that I do not need to be fancy with my words, for this does not impress You. Show me to fully rely on You in every situation and emotion I come across so the enemy does not have an open door to use it against me. I want to grow closer to You as a son/daughter, friend and servant. I declare my day to be full of Your blessings and I believe it will be. Use me today Father in anything You need of me. Help me to be that blessing to Your children. Shine Your light through me and let the glory be to You. For the honor is Yours and the praise is Yours, for my life is renewed thanks to Your sacrifice. Show me how I can grow fully in You. Please help me to rid myself of any pride that may be in the way of this. In Your Caring Name I pray this and receive Your reward, Jesus Christ. Amen.