The Do’s and Don’ts of Prayer
““And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. It is NOT a performance, sometimes the simplest prayers are the most powerful. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ”
I know for myself in the past, I've over-spiritualized prayer, and it paralyzed me from even showing up in my personal prayer time. Or I’d be in that public prayer meeting at church wondering if my prayer had to sound like the fancy person at the pulpit using the big words, doing the holy hustle down the aisle. Just as Jesus wrote, I’ve since found the simplest prayers really are the most powerful.
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I'm sure you're familiar with the Lord's prayer.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, You will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…"
Found in Matthew 6:5-7, right before Jesus teaches us HOW to pray, He shows us the POSTURE we should take in prayer.
Jesus is demonstrating the position and posture we can take AS we pray.
As we read from Matthew 6 above, we can pull from the text that he's saying three things.
PRAYER IS NOT A PERFORMANCE
PRAYER DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT
PRAYER IS A DIALOGUE WITH A REWARD OF DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP
Since attempting performance-based prayers, God has brought me freedom and I’ve learned it's not about saying the perfect curated slew of words to get God to respond to my wants, goals, and desires. It’s not about sounding “holier” than I am or mustering up some formula to produce prayer results.
It’s about trusting Holy Spirit to lead me in HOW to pray.
It's about being authentic, honest, and vulnerable, knowing full well that when I leave space to hear God's response, it may not even be aligned with my wants, goals, and desires. In fact, I love when that happens!
Prayer time shouldn't be the “you or me” show, ya know?
Prayer is a spiritual discipline where we GET to spend carved out, intentional time communicating with the Creator of the Universe. Prayer is a posture we should be honored to partake in.
And sometimes, the simplest prayer we can say is, "Jesus, show me who you are and the things you care about."
Then we…
pause,
wait,
and reflect.
Let us pray.
Will you pray with me today?
You don’t have to perform for God. Show up AS you are and trust that being in God’s presence holds the power to transform, mold, strengthen and sustain you. You catch heaven’s perspective as you spend time in prayer! Ask Him to show you what He cares about.
God is at work all around us (and in us), don't miss it!
written by Jenny Randle
Prayer is a foundational way God speaks.
Harvest House Publishers, 2020
