Prayer is like a breath to me. Prayer is how I commune with God. It doesn't need to be long and wordy. Nor does it need to sound proper and religious. It is like a child talking to his dad in love.
It could be a few words a toddler could utter or a long heart to heart chat. Whatever forms it may take, if it is uttered in sincerity, it becomes a fragrant incense in God's sight.
A word of thank you is a prayer. Awe and adoration in silence, with no words uttered counts a lovely prayer. A cry for help uttered towards heaven is also a prayer. A time of questioning and waiting for answer from Almighty is also counted as prayer.
Rules and formulas do not have much effect on prayer except that they bring some sort of discipline to our prayer life.
Posture and length too do not earn favor from God unless they are offered in right attitude and sincerity of heart.
"Pray without ceasing," wrote apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. But, how could we pray non-stop? Doesn't that sound little too much?
Maybe not,if we understand him clearly. He is not asking us to be on our knees from dawn to night.
That was not Paul's suggestion and it wouldn't be comfortable to us or to anyone working around us.
He meant to keep our prayers simple, sincere and be able to offer them whenever and wherever we can. We should have the confidence that our loving God hears our prayers and we could talk to Him about everything that matters to us.
When you wake up every morning, a word of thank you to God is a great way of greeting the day.
After all, being alive and to see a new day is gift. While so many have gone without seeing the day or ailing in sick bed or unable to see, hear, eat, walk or work, you have been blessed to see the day in fairly good health, shouldn't we be grateful for that? Who knows how we will be tomorrow? So, let us be thankful for each day we breathe in and breathe out.
If you see beautiful flowers or taste some juicy fruit or hear the sound of rain drops on the roof later that day, try to send a word of thank you towards the One who created a beautiful world for you to live and enjoy.
When things at work become stressful, people around get difficult to interact, deadlines unnerve you, take a moment to ask for wisdom and strength to manage your day with confidence.
Temptations may come your way to divert your attention and lure to say a white lie, slack in your work, indulge in gossip or cheat in someway that appears harmless, stop and ask God's help to keep you strong and be un-wavered.
Involve God in every decision you make and in everything you do so that you wouldn't have regrets in the future.
At the end of the day, thank the Lord for His provision, protection and guidance. You may not be aware of the danger or accidents you have been protected that day. So, be thankful for being safe back home with your family without much trouble.
Praise the Lord whenever you feel like,thank Him for everything you have received that day and tell Him how much He means to You.
Let us give up the habit of " Give me, give me and give me more' type of prayers and seek His heart more than His hands.
(June 07, 2005)
No comments:
Post a Comment