And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8
“Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with our Lord in prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God’s grace.”
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1963) reading for 6 August. Special thanks to Daily Meditations reader and Aussie mate, Josh Reid, for sharing today’s post with me!
All too often I approach prayer as making long requests and seeking answers from God rather than aligning my heart with God. I want Him to help me or GTP have what I think we need to accomplish His purposes, when in reality I think He wants my heart to become one with His and to trust in His faithfulness and love.
This idea that we become “living monuments of God’s grace” comes into view as profound picture. When my heart is one with God’s heart, it enables people to shift from focusing on what I lack to realizing I have everything I need. Out of that realization, I am overcome by the reality of God’s abundant grace and (hopefully) people see this in my life.
This week in Washington (pictured above from the air) Jenni and I are talking with Korean pastors and their wives about generosity and spiritual formation. Our remarks relate to the central message of this post. We must change the focus of our prayers and align our hearts with God’s and starting living in the reality that we have everything we need in Christ.