Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!

Prayer is communication. It is talking and then listening to God. Jesus gave an example of prayer in Matthew 6:7- 13 says: (KJV)




But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen




There are plenty of bible studies out there that dissect this prayer, and I am sure any number of them will be better at explaining this, but I want to share with you what I see here.




First, don’t use vain repetitions. A prayer for rain, or a prayer for a good birth, or a prayer to blight your enemy, these were all common types of prayers among other religions. But today I see this in the body of Christ too. I have done it. Prayed a generic prayer to appease the requirements I must meet as a Christian. ‘Lord, bless this food to our bodies, and our bodies to your service’ before every meal… the Lord’s Prayer said as it is written because people don’t understand that it is a template, not the be all and end all in prayers. Hail Marys’ because that is what you are taught and you have no idea why, it just is…




If every conversation with your husband, wife, parents, or children repeated the same words every time, could you call that real communication? Think about it.




The second thing is that God already knows what you need to talk about. What you need to ask Him for. He just wants to hear it from you. John 14:13 says “and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” God sees the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) Talking builds relationship. Between us and God, communication should be an intimate thing: open, honest, and frequent.




Next, we should praise who God is. The psalmists had it right. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and enter into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him and bless his name.” (Ps 100:4) Really look at that scripture. Now think of a palace. The gates go around the palace. Before we even enter into God’s presence we should be thanking Him for who He is and what He has done. The courts are His personal space. Throughout modern history, a citizen must be invited to court before coming to see the king. Thank God, we have a personal invitation, sealed by the blood of Jesus to come and go freely! We also have an intercessor. An advocate leading our case before the throne of God: Jesus. (I John 2:1)




In addition, we should ask that God’s will be brought to earth. Since God works through men and women that means we need to ask Our Father to make us malleable and obedient. It means we need strength and discipline, so those are things we should ask for too. Hard to do, because, when your heart really lines up with what you ask for, we don’t always receive the answers the way we think we should.




That is why relationship and trust is so important. When you truly trust, you can take anything that gets thrown your way. If you are having issues dealing with the curveballs of life it means you must stop leaning on your own understanding, and lean more on His. (Proverbs 3:5)




Now that we have 1) dispensed with convention and 2) actually come to God in prayer instead of vainly wishing for what we need, and 3) really worshiped who God is, and what He has done and 4) Asked God to prepare us for His will in our lives; NOW we can ask for our needs. Now we can beseech the Lord for our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs; i.e. Bread, forgiveness, and the ability to forgive others…. protection from evil and from ourselves, and so much more. This is when we can crawl up into Daddy’s lap and let our hearts hang open… He can deal with the blubbering and snot… so let it out.




Finally, listen to what He has to say back, and realize He is the ultimate authority on what is best for you. When we leave that prayer time, and life starts happening around us, remember that the will of God is at work and all of this life is opportunity for His glory.


Be blessed and be a blessing, and remember, ASK is a VERB! 


What are you asking God for?