To Engage in a Relationship with God
Prayer, at its simplest definition, is communing with God, exercising our relationship with Him. It develops an intimate relationship between us and the Lord. The Lord calls us in Matt 6:6 to spend time in “secret,” behind closed doors, where we speak to Him, face to face, in an intimate relationship. He essentially calls us away to a place (secret room) and to a time (away from the world).
Here in this place of intimacy, we present all our requests to Him.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)
Yet, he does not need us to “babble on like pagans” (Matt 6:7) because His Father heart already knows what we need (Matt 6:8).
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt 7:7-8)
Instead, He longs for a personal, intimate time with us, where He can reveal himself to us, and we can be intimate with Him.
In this intimate time, He calls us to “abide with Him” and in this abiding we draw close to Him. It is best described as:
Prayer is so simple;
Challenge: Why not make a point of starting each day with prayer, before you get out of bed. Praying again just before you fall asleep.
It is like quietly opening a door
And slipping into the very
presence of God,
There is the stillness
To listen to His voice;
Perhaps to petition,
Or only to listen:
It matters not.
Just to be there
In His Presence
Is prayer.
(Author unknown)
This is prayer: taking part in our relationship with Him which is based on communication through prayer.
Just as it is good to spend quality time with your loved ones, prayer is quality time with God. It is a process of speaking, listening, quietly reflecting on what is said, speaking, listening… a drawing near to Him so that you can commune with Him and enjoy His presence.
It produces intimacy in our relationship with Him.
If there is any reason to want to develop the discipline of prayer: it would be to move into a deeper relationship with the Lord.
One of the privileges we believers have, is to : Enjoy the Presence of God.
In scripture there are many assurances of God’s presence with us. Making sure we know and understand these assurances of His presence, is important for our spiritual growth. Although the evidence for God’s presence with us is sure in scripture, our experience of Gods presence in our lives is not.
God may alter our experience of His presence, even in our prayers, but the fact of His presence cannot be challenged.
Relationship with God, enjoyed through prayer, always comes before work for God
However, in prayer, we often get to experience and interact with God by purposefully focusing on His non-stop presence with us.
It is a way of remembering and purposefully, by faith, interacting with Him, even if we don’t sense Him at the moment. This is particularly so while we are facing storms in life.
Jesus may not calm the storms of life around us, but He always calms the child in His arms in the middle of the storm, on the basis of His presence.
Through prayer, we get to enjoy the presence of God in our lives, we get to joy in the fact that He is always with us.
We pray, because as it allows us to engage in our relationship with God and enjoy His Presence with us.
Lord, thank you that I can enter into Your Presence at any time and enjoy Your company and delight in a relationship with You. Thank you that the blood of Jesus covers me and allows me to engage in conversation with the Lord Almighty. Thank you that You are always with me and will never forsake me or leave me in any way. Even though I am not aware of Your presence at all times, thank you that at any time, I can go to my secret place, away from the world and enjoy Your presence with me.
