God proved His love for us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our salvation, and He continues to demonstrate His love by being interested in every facet of our lives.
In Luke 18:1-7, Jesus taught a parable about a judge and a persistent widow, which reminds us that God always hears our prayers and provides for our needs. If we are His children, we don’t have to beg Him to listen to us, nor do we need to feel unworthy. We don’t deserve His mercy, grace, and love, but He freely gives it because of our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
There is a difference between true and false prayer. True prayer requires a relationship with God. However, those who have rejected Jesus have no basis for approaching the Lord in prayer because access to Him is only possible through His Son (John 14:6). Therefore, God does not answer their false prayers. No one can bypass Christ and expect that the Lord will grant their requests.
However, there is one prayer He always answers. When someone is willing to humble himself, confess his sins, and receive Jesus as his personal Savior, the Lord will forgive him and welcome him into the family of God.
False prayer is all about self and is based on what we think we deserve. Many times, it’s a monologue focused on what we want from God. But true prayer comes from a sense of humility, realizing that we are accepted on the basis of the Lord’s mercy, not by our conduct. It’s a dialogue with God because we are not just interested in giving Him our list of requests, but we want to hear from Him.
Devote yourself to prayer. The Scriptures repeatedly tell us to devote ourselves to prayer (Col. 4:2). Devotion requires that we not only set aside uninterrupted time for prayer but that we also think seriously about what we’re asking. We must give God the time and attention He deserves in order to have a growing relationship with Him.
Prayer is our most profitable activity. The time we spend with the Lord affects our lives in a variety of ways. It’s the method God uses to meet our needs (Phil. 4:19). He comforts us in our times of trial and heartache by assuring us of His presence with us and His willingness to help us.
Lord, we thank you for Jesus, for His sacrifice on the Cross, laying His life down for mankind, and taking on the SIN of people worldwide. Father help us to understand the power of prayer and its importance in knowing You and thereby building an intimate relationship with You. Jesus, please know how thankful we are that God sent You to earth to model what the Father is like, His trustworthiness love, and Your dependency upon Him for everything. We want to be molded into Your likeness and seek to be totally dependent upon You as You were to the Father.
In Christ, Bill
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