It may shock you, but God doesnt enjoy many of our prayers! When I first got saved, people told me the importance of praying and one should spend at least half an hour praying, so I thought well if Im expected to pray for half an hour and if I pray for an hour, this will really impress God. The problem was when I was reading the Word and discovering more about God, I was excited, but when I started praying, the time really used to drag. I would close my eyes to pray (by the way you dont have to pray with your eyes closed), and seemed an eternity I would open my eyes and only 10 minutes had gone by!
So I used to pray for all my uncles and aunties and cousins and the dog and anyone else I could think of and then I would pray for myself and plead and cry for God to bless me. The frustrating thing was nothing seem to change, it was just a ritual I was performing and this was like what Jesus said in Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
I was trying to impress God with my vain repetitions! Most people believe the longer you pray the better it is and the more God will answer. There is no virtue in praying for long a time.
Jesus normally kept His prayers short. Only twice in the New Testament did He pray all night. The shorter the prayer the greater the faith! Peace be still, calmed a raging storm. Lazarus come forth, raised a dead man. If I pray for long periods, most of the time in prayer is in tongues. Im praying and receiving wisdom and revelation. Self edification is an important New Testament prayer. (1 Cor 14:4; Jude 20,21)
The majority of Christians see prayer time as an opportunity to petition God with all their needs and problems. Yes there are scriptures which reveal that asking and receiving is a valid use of prayer, but you ought to confine it to 5 percent or less of your prayer time.
Prayer is communion with God! If Hes with you all of the time, you ought to be praying all of the time. Expressing yourself in communing with God is not limited to certain positions. In the Bible, people, stood, knelt, raised their hands, looked up to heaven and lay prostrate, but let us not a religious form out of it. Since meditation is prayer (Ps 5:1), you dont even have to talk out loud! Your communion with God should be constant.
There are special times in a marriage when you may go out for a meal and spend time together, this face to face time alone helps build intimacy into a marriage. So it is appropriate to isolate yourself alone with God for special times of intimacy, but this is not all the time. We must learn to relate to Him in the midst of our daily responsibilities and our weekly routines because they occupy the majority of our life.
Its totally unrealistic for spouses to limit their relationship only to special times together. Jesus, your eternal Husband is the same! Dont limit your relationship to dates Walk and talk with Him all day, every day! – If you have any questions or like to discuss anything I have written about email me at: rhf3@yahoo.com
Post published in: Opinions