Breakfast with God 202412124

[Roby.evans]

Good Morning Friends,

This morning, I am wondering what is the status of our prayer life? Do we REALLY expect an answer or an action from God? Or is prayer a mundane action of repetitive memorized disrespect to God. When you hear someone pray out loud be it in a church service, classroom or public event and they reach the end of the prayer do you hear them speed up their closing “In Jesus Name we ask, amen” or other similar closing. How mindlessly disrespectful this act is, at least I hope it is mindless and not intentionally disrespectful and if this is the case then well, they have no business praying in the first place! As you may be able to tell this is a pet peeve of mine.

Just as Jesus warned of the corruption and rigidity of the Jewish prayers and their prayer life, I ask are we in danger of similarity of purpose. Jesus gave us instruction when asked by the Disciples not what, but how to pray. Jesus said, “Pray, then, in this way”. According to John MacArthur’s commentary the Greek phrase Houtos oun (then, in this way) means literally, “Thus therefore,” and frequently carried the idea of “along these lines” or “in the following manner.” Jesus told HOW to pray and WHAT to pray and many think that just saying or repeating “The Lord’s Prayer” as told in the Gospels of Matthew 6 and Luke 11 is prayer in itself but this is far from the truth. The Lord’s Prayer is an outline of HOW and WHAT FOR. Please do not get me wrong, I am all for Scripture memorization and believe it is a very important process in the growth of any Christian as a ladder to build upon, a crutch to support us in times of need, and a tool for the sharing of His Word to the World.

With all that said, I ask again. “What is the status of your prayer life, what are your expectations, are you praying and expecting a answer or a result. God has promised in Psalm 91:15 and Jeremiah 33:3 that if we call upon God, He will answer! The answer may be, Yes, No, or later, or you’re not ready. Looking deeper into the Lord’s Prayer we must never underestimate Satan, and this is one of the reasons Jesus told us to ask that the Lord “Deliver us from evil, why, because He knew that Satan would use every means possible to seduce us because He experienced it firsthand in the wilderness.

Here is a great idea to practice, load your Spiritual gun first thing in the morning when you wake and before your feet hit the floor, ask the Lord that you are not led into temptation and delivered from evil throughout the day, thus opening your morning for deliverance and protection.

Father, I thank you for your Word and I thank you for giving us direct access to you through the Holy Spirit. I ask this morning that my prayers and the prayers of friends and family are not blocked by the ceiling of Sin un-confessed Sin in our lives that separates us from you. I ask that my prayer life be strengthen and that I give you ALL the GLORY and PRAISE continually not only for the good, but also for the not so good as I may see it, knowing that my plans are not specifically your plans and that I may recognize your plans, and your will are paramount. Father, I ask these in Jesus Christ Name. AMEN