“ Prayer has nothing to do with a list but everything to do with a person, God Himself.”
job. When I walked into the break room where they were praying, it wasn’ t what they were praying, how they were praying, or the volume of their voices that caught my attention. It was the fact that it seemed like they were talking to someone they had known all of their lives, as if they were speaking face-to-face. Over the years, I have often reflected on what it was that so captivated me when I heard the prayers of this group of people passionately crying out to God for me. I have come to the conclusion that it was the friendship and closeness they displayed with God, as if they were talking to their very best friend. That is because they were.
Historically, prayer has been viewed as a list, but in Luke’ s Gospel, Jesus taught the disciples that prayer has nothing to do with a list but everything to do with a person, God Himself. Jesus told them to look up and direct their attention to a Father in heaven who would provide for them, deliver them from the temptation of sin, and forgive their sins! Jesus had friendship with God; the disciples knew this, and they wanted to have what He had. True friends will look beyond what is external and look for what is within. I will never forget the moment when I was in worship at church and I said,“ Lord, You know my heart, and You see right through me.” Immediately, the Lord showed me that His desire was for me to see right through Him as well. That moment overwhelmed me because I had never known I had permission to see through Him as well. Now, while some may think this is obvious, at that moment in my life, it was the first time
I realized that not only was there an open invitation to know God’ s heart, but His desire was for me to see right through Him as He sees right through me.
“ Prayer has nothing to do with a list but everything to do with a person, God Himself.”
The God of all creation invites you into His heart, and you don ' t have to jump through hoops to earn His love— you already have it. You don ' t have to prove anything about who you are either, because He already knows the depths of your being that no one else knows. True friendships are not one sided, and prayer is an ongoing conversation with Jesus that never ends. There aren’ t formulas or rituals when it comes to prayer. Prayer can begin by speaking straight to Him or by simply listening for God ' s voice and responding to Him as you walk and talk with Him just as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day. Jesus gave His life for you and me to have direct access to the Father the way He did. If you could ask God one question, what would you ask Him? My immediate question is why? I believe the answer to this question is that the entirety of Scripture revolves around our heart connection with the Lord. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
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