Last week we ran our first "Connected" evening. It is a different format for doing church aimed at inviting your friends along. For our first evening we looked at "What does it look like when God answers prayer?" In our YouVersion live event post I asked why people find it hard to pray. (If you have come here from this week's YouVersion event ad welcome!) The answers we got back were very interesting. They included being tired to being caught in sin. I thought it might be worth having a very brief think through about prayer here. I hope it will be some help to you.
There is a sense in which, for the Christian, prayer should be like breathing. In all things our minds and hearts should incline towards God at all times. However our relationship with God is just that - a relationship. We show how much we value our relationships by how much exclusive time we are willing to give them. My wife knows I love her when I stop doing everything else and just give her my time. In the same way the time we take out to "be with" God in prayer and the Scriptures reveals the value we place on that relationship. If you are finding it hard to pray is it because your love for God has dried up or gone cold. If so, please don't feel alone. I don't know a Christian who doesn't sometimes get in this place. Prayer and Bible reading, if done at all, becomes a tick box exercise; read my Bible, check - prayed, check, brushed my teeth, check, - etc.... If we get here we have forgotten the gospel - we've forgotten why we loved him in the first place. Perhaps we should remind ourselves.
Jn 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1Pe 1:18-19
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Isa 53:5
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Rom 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1Jo 4:10
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I don't know if these are familiar verses to you, I hope they are. Don't let them wash over you. Go back read and re-read them. Allow the truth of them to sink into your hearts. Remember that the Christian life is a life of repentance (true sorrow and seeking of forgiveness for all your sin) and faith (believing God loves you better than you ever could, and so following after your Lord). Those two steps need happen again and again every day. The reason we can be sure we are safe when we do is the cross - the demonstration of God's love - and the resurrection - the demonstration of God's power.
The reality of the gospel, and the forgiveness of our sin through the death of Christ in our place means that this is true:
Heb 10:19-22
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Because of what the Lord Jesus has done we may come to God in heaven as our Father (perfect, beautiful, glorious, eternally loving Father) knowing he will accept us every time. We can rejoice in the Lord and:
Phi 4:6
6... not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Our Father in heaven loves you so much he did not even withhold the life of his eternal Son from us. And so we love him, because he has loved us. The Lord Jesus wants to spend time with us so much that he gave his life so we could be with him in an eternal home.
Now of course if you are caught in a sin you can't escape it will keep you from prayer. You will feel dirty and unworthy. (That's why we need Jesus folks.) Do not stop fighting that sin, but remember grace from the throne of heaven is always there for you. If you don't seek God how do you to overcome your sin. The only way to do it is by God's grace. You really want to beat that sin - then pray! Ask for God to be merciful to you. Pray and don't give up. There is grace for you.
If your tired - I know how you feel! (As I do with the sin issue actually). This morning I fell back asleep as I tried to pray - woke up late and was in a rush to get the kids to school! Do you know how I feel when one of my children curls up on my lap and goes to sleep in the middle of the conversation. I'm not annoyed! I'm delighted that my child feels so safe with me. Of course it isn't ideal. Perhaps like me you need to sleep earlier (hence this post is about to finish). But don't beat yourself up over it. Your heavenly Father won't! Set aside 5, 10, 15 minutes to spend time talking with your Father in heaven. Praise him in his glory, thank him for his goodness, seek his will in his Lordship and repent knowing you are safe in his mercy.
