Psalm 17:6
“I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer”
Some have suggested that if we pray a certain way, it will be sure to get God’s attention. Pray each morning at 4:00 AM, while kneeling on the cold floor and balancing a bible on your head. Hold lit candles in both hands, so that God will get the idea that you are serious about prayer and therefore will focus on what you are about to say. Does the posture we adopt influence our prayer? Do our surroundings matter? Does the wording matter? The answer to all can be NO but it can also be YES. When contemplating prayer, several questions may come to mind: What do I pray about? Where do I pray? Why am I going to pray? How will I pray? Who am I praying to? However, spending too much time thinking about praying “correctly”, may be avoiding prayer!
I like the book Christian Prayer for Dummies. It does not contain vast amounts of spiritual wisdom or theological arguments concerning prayer. I like it because it simplifies prayer while also suggesting prayer is very personal and very important. We may have been taught to pray with our hands folded, head bowed, eyes closed, while seated or kneeling. That is a great posture that can help us focus while also allowing us to remain comfortable. However, it is only one of the many postures we can adopt. How we pray is linked to our personal feelings and circumstances. The circumstance may cause us to stand up where we are and raise our hands to God and cry out to Him. Or, in our humility, cause us to lie face down before Him submitting ourselves to His will. All postures are correct and whether we are alone or in a group or in church or our car, God hears our prayer. Prayer, whether spoken in “King James” or Cape Breton slang, is sweet music to God’s ears. There is no formula to prayer.
If prayer is not part of our day, then we are to correct that and not worry about the nuisances. God’s word tells us that it is through prayer that He hears and speaks to us. If we are not praying it is hard to imagine being connected to Him. To live in harmony and understand one another, we are designed to communicate. When we speak to our spouses, our children or our friends we become connected to their needs and feelings. We do not talk the same way, at the same time, or in the same place all the time. Our circumstances dictate our communication. The person who can get up and carry on their day without saying anything to anyone is probably a very lonely, hurting person. The person who can avoid speaking to God during their day is also probably very lonely and hurting.
Some of us would love to meet and speak with a celebrity whose talent has brought some happiness to our life. We know that unless we are willing to do something to get their attention, we will never get a chance. All of us can daily meet and speak with the creator of life, who offers eternal happiness and doesn’t expect us to do anything to get His attention other than ask. Yet, we avoid those changes.
All of us can afford to change our prayer life, not to get God’s attention but to get God. God’s wants to give all of us something but if we do not talk or listen to Him, we will miss out on an incredible gift. Change your life so you can experience Him daily.
“Father God, change me. Holy Spirit, nudge me. Jesus, love me. Amen”