Prayer for my own soul's needs and the needs of others...prayer, beginning a rapport, as it were, with the God of the universe is our portion as a believer. What a privilege to be allowed into His presence, at all. We don't deserve His hearing us. That is the most important posession that we have as His children; access to Him in prayer.
Confession of sin, hallowing His name, praise and worship, setting our needs and desires before Him, enjoying the meditation of His attributes are some of the components of prayer. Lord, teach us to pray, the disciples asked. Expression of having the presence of God, in the pardon of our sins is the desire to pray and the commitment to pray, certainly not as a superstitious habit; but as a wonderful expression of loving interaction with the dear and wondrous God who paid all to save us.
When prayer becomes rote and verbiage, void of heart and purpose, something is wrong. We still must pray. The elder saints, used to call this posture of prayer, "praying through". There is an old hymn that says Sometimes a light surprises the Christian when he sings... It is the Lord, who cometh, with healing in his wings. How many times can we say that this is so true? God rarely allows us to go to Him that He does not give us a sense of the reason for our coming. He reminds us of our need, our sinful tendencies and challenges, that are yet unmortified. He gives us fresh life and vigor in service and life. He bears the burdens of our challenges and pains.
When we call out to Him and look at His attributes in prayer and worship and praise, we are forcing our mind's eye to look distinctly, in the only way that we can, at the God who we are serving.
Invitations to worship and praise and call upon Him, to love Him verbally, to shower His glory with our mentions of them. Take out the God's attribute blocks and call them out to Him and see if God doesn't give you a greater vision of His purposes in your life and His presence with you in your struggles.
Oh! What peace we often forfeit?
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