Scripture from JAP:
Proverbs 15:8: “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayers of the upright pleases Him.”
The scriptural definition of prayer is “an evolving means of interacting with God, most frequently through a spontaneous, individual, unorganized form of petitioning and/or thanking.”
Notice, not merely speaking words that blow away like a feather in the wind, but like speaking to the surrounding storm with “Peace be still” INTERACTING with God, as Jesus did in Matthew 8:23-27. Jesus warned about praying with the wrong motives—looking only for personal favor, or to present an example of a ‘model Christian’. “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men” (Matthew 6:5-8). (Please read the post Believer and Christian for the difference between the two)
Our enemy the devil is a master at distracting from our prayers. When selecting a perfect time to approach God, inevitably the phone will ring, or someone will ring the doorbell, or memories from the past—resentment, bitterness, or anger—will intrude, blocking the flow of communication with the wonderful God who is always listening and is always delighted to hear our well-intended prayers.
But we must be “self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9). We must guard against his attacks as he claims our unworthiness, preventing God from hearing us, or the lie that God is too busy to waste time listening to anyone so unimportant as us, or to respond to our foolish needs; AND if we are merely “practicing” religion without “knowing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths” (Romans 10:9-10) that “by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14) we will probably believe this enemy’s deceit.
Jesus Himself proclaimed that Satan is a liar! ”He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him…..he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:42-47). Our Lord has left many examples of those saints who prayed with faith—believing—and then witnessing God’s wonderful response.
~ Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah which saved Lot and his family from destruction (Genesis 18:16-33)
~ Moses’ prayer for mercy for the Israelites when they made the golden calf to represent God, which saved them from immediate destruction, but not from later punishment of a plague. (Exodus 32:30-35)
~ Hannah’s prayer for a son to which God graciously responded with the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:12-17)
Were they all perfect enough to expect God’s answer? No, but they believed through faith that He would! Neither could we ever be qualified to expect God’s love to work on our behalf without the excellence of the blood of the Savior God sent to cleanse us from our sin. Our faith now stands on a more perfect promise, we can be “sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1) because we are standing on the promises in the covenant of blood God made with His body, the church: “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me” and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).
Obedience to our all knowing God and His plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) will give pleasure in our prayers to the God who loved us enough to die for us and to provide a place of trust, knowing that we can depend on Him to “be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see!”
Amen.