Prayer is... WHAT???? Not what you think

We think it is about us.  Left to ourselves we think EVERYTHING is about us.  Just look at a two year old.

But it is not.  It is about how God created things, living aligned and what He wants to accomplish.

Prayer.

I sometimes hate even using that word because it is so fraught with overtones of religion, when God designed it to be a pathway to relationship.  It is so much more than what that word usually brings to our gray cells. 

When Jesus talked about and modeled prayer, it was about a way of life... walking in tune with the Father... being so aligned that He was naturally nudged in the Father’s direction... constant conversation with the One He loved and missed... enjoying what the Father could pour into Him... feeling fully alive!!

I think “COMMUNION” is a better word.  Yet it, too, is attached to religion.  Not talking about the juice and bread ceremony, but rather living life together, interacting, constantly conversing, always aware of one another’s presence and desiring to please the other.

THAT is a small glimpse of what Jesus meant by “prayer”.  And He said it was THE KEY to the ability to do some things.  When Jesus said that some things ONLY happen through prayer, it was relationship - THAT kind of relationship - that He was talking about.  Not ritual, religious duty, but an alive, relational, fulfilling, “can’t wait to talk” experience.

When Jesus cast out a horrible demon from a boy after the disciples could not, THAT is the kind of relationship, constant companionship “prayer” He is talking about.  Read it...

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”Mark 9:28-29 (NIV)

So next time you try to get yourself in a lather, thinking that kind of intensity will get God to do something for you...

Or next time you think God is not listening or caring...

Or next time you blow off talking with God...

STOP IT!  Back off and focus on the relational interaction – the COMMUNION, rather than the activity. 

Be warned, though.  It will humble you, challenge you, convict you, but it will also lead you to the COMMUNION with God you have always longed for.

God can hardly wait!  What are YOU waiting for. Stop reading and start talking with your Heavenly DAD. 

Boldly, Herb

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