We all end up thinking we're more holy than we actually are.
"Do I need prayer? Nah... God knows I'm a Christian already."
"Why do I need to? He knows I love Him. I know He knows what's on my heart. I know His plan will carry out no matter what."
These thoughts are always in my head. I end up going to bed without praying more often than I'd like to admit. I know I am a true follower of Christ and I know that God's plan will carry out no matter what or that I can somewhow "make up" for the time I didn't spend praying by going to service or reading my Bible. Sometimes I'll pray because I'm feeling guilty for not spending enough time in conversation with God. That guilt can sometimes be good! It can motivate us to pray even more. But notice that I said it can only be good sometimes.
Most of the time the cycle will repeat itself. Zealous prayer --> Habit --> Loss of passion --> Lack of prayer --> Eventual guilt..... etc, etc. It goes on and on.
All of the time it leads to disappointment.
God wants us to pray to Him. He loves it. He wants you to bother Him. I don't love it when people complain about things to me 24/7, but hey, God does. That is prayer. He will never reject you, He will always answer, and He loves this Divine conversation (Check out Luke 18:1-8).
I don't spend enough time in prayer. I don't pray every single day. I'm too proud. I'm not humble enough. Isn't that what I strive for as a Christian-- humility? By not praying consistantly and passionately, I'm taking advantage of my God. I know God has total control, but I'm not walking in His plan with Him. But in reality, I'm the one who thinks they have control. Eventually, there will be times when I will realize that this idea of control was just an illusion, and I will have no other choice than to be brought to my knees.
I believe that the core of the problem is our pride, no matter how often we admit that God has control of our lives. We get so annoyed when our prayers aren't answered immediately or not in the way we want them to be. How stupid are we? If you want a real humbling passage to read, check out Job 38-40:5. I really, really reccommend reading this passage. We read it together as a community at service tonight and I was so completely taken-aback.
"And then the Lord answered Job in a whirlwind:
Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much......................Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb................Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know................. Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives...........
You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?"
No. We don't. We fail to realize how big our God is. How do we come to think we are more holy than we really are?
Jesus gave us the perfect prayer. He gave us the perfect outline and taught us how to talk to God. You know it by heart: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name......" This is an outline, and it is composed in this order:
1. Praise His name.
2. Lay down what dominates your heart.
3. Pray for His will to be done. Make your truest needs known.
4. Pray for help. You are a sinner. We're all imperfect. We have to beg not to be lead into temptation.
I sincerely hope that you take more time to focus on prayer. If you have any questions about your relationship with the Lord, or have any prayer requests at all, I'd be more than happy to help. Text me or message me on Twitter (kathryn_forbes) or Facebook.
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Shout outs to Kelsey Brockett, Jen Tucker, and Caroline Scott for giving me some awesome insights on prayer and what it means to them. Love you all!
