Hello
In thinking through prayer, I‘ve sometimes wondered whether my prayers will change when in the presence of God. Consider today’s Holy Nougat
“So they rolled away the stone. Yeshua lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of this crowd standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.””
John 11:41-42 TLV
Now this prayer is pretty special. It captures a slice in time that is past, present and future all at once. Did you notice that? Jesus, standing in the Present (continuous), thanks God for having already acted IN the Past to effect Lazarus’ Future resurrection. That’s beyond time travel; yet perhaps less far fetched to each of us who believes in the power of prayer.
As with Jesus, when we pray, we approach with the hope (and expectation) that each petition has already received a yes in Heaven. That is the basis of our faith wherein we proclaim that “the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). The reward being our answered prayers.
But Jesus also raised another valuable point in this prayer. He noted that God always (not sometimes) listened when Jesus prayed. We take solace in that declaration, remembering that Jesus Himself affirmed that God’s Triune presence listens to us when saints come together (Mathew 18:20). Further, Paul asserts that both Jesus and God’s Ruach (Spirit) petition God on our behalf. That suggests that God is interested in what we say.
Which takes us full circle – when we enter God’s presence in prayer, are we consciously thinking about What we say? Or do we just put any words together and pray that they make sense to God? Do we pray believing that God is listening and will honor our request? What would we change in our approach to God if we thought that God’s desire is to answer our prayer? And how does our recognition of prayer time(s) affect our approach to prayer? In Christ’s love and grace . . .
