Romans 12:12
Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Ephesians 1:16 “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
I heard a Christian man (I can’t remember who) quote a famous Christian woman (I can’t remember who) about prayer. She had said that, so much of the time, her prayers boiled down to this:
“Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Help! Help! Help!”
It was humorous hearing this story, and yet it’s a good model of prayer, because so many of our prayers--the kind that please God--are like this. Even the Lord’s Prayer can be said in a spirit of thankfulness that our Father is holy and that it’s His will and not ours that’s in charge of how things are done on earth.
Sometimes when I’m tired and I start to pray, I’ll notice that I go straight to the “Help!” part of my prayers. No thanks to God. No adoration of who God is. No recognition of His will over mine. Just, “Help me to be… or to do….” But at those times, I’m missing out on something essential.
It’s during the “Thank You” part of prayer that we’re reminded of how much of what we have and treasure came from God. I have not stopped giving thanks for my children, for the way they’ve grown up, for the fact that they’ve grown up and are still part of my life. All of this is because of the goodness and mercy of a loving God. And so is everything else--the roof over my head and the job I have that keeps it there, a car that runs, my sweet little dog--all of it is from Him.
And when I’ve thanked Him and been reminded of who He is, then the requests for help seem to be less selfish and more in line with what I believe He wants for me and the people I pray for.
How faithful is your prayer life compared to what you’d like it to be? How much do you struggle with praying “the right way”? Maybe it would help just to pray the simple prayer: “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Help! Help! Help!”
May the Lord fill you with joy, patience, and faithfulness in prayer.
Brenda
Ephesians 1:16 “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
I heard a Christian man (I can’t remember who) quote a famous Christian woman (I can’t remember who) about prayer. She had said that, so much of the time, her prayers boiled down to this:
“Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Help! Help! Help!”
It was humorous hearing this story, and yet it’s a good model of prayer, because so many of our prayers--the kind that please God--are like this. Even the Lord’s Prayer can be said in a spirit of thankfulness that our Father is holy and that it’s His will and not ours that’s in charge of how things are done on earth.
Sometimes when I’m tired and I start to pray, I’ll notice that I go straight to the “Help!” part of my prayers. No thanks to God. No adoration of who God is. No recognition of His will over mine. Just, “Help me to be… or to do….” But at those times, I’m missing out on something essential.
It’s during the “Thank You” part of prayer that we’re reminded of how much of what we have and treasure came from God. I have not stopped giving thanks for my children, for the way they’ve grown up, for the fact that they’ve grown up and are still part of my life. All of this is because of the goodness and mercy of a loving God. And so is everything else--the roof over my head and the job I have that keeps it there, a car that runs, my sweet little dog--all of it is from Him.
And when I’ve thanked Him and been reminded of who He is, then the requests for help seem to be less selfish and more in line with what I believe He wants for me and the people I pray for.
How faithful is your prayer life compared to what you’d like it to be? How much do you struggle with praying “the right way”? Maybe it would help just to pray the simple prayer: “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Help! Help! Help!”
May the Lord fill you with joy, patience, and faithfulness in prayer.
Brenda
posted by BreadBakers at 12:00 AM
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