The Function of Prayer
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. 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.” (Matthew 6:5-8)
Today’s Morsel: The function
of prayer is not to influence God, He already knows the things that we have
need of. But rather it is to change the nature of the one who
prays. If we spend an hour in prayer and it does not change who we are,
it was a wasted hour. The function of prayer is to find the heart of God,
to gain an understanding of God’s desire for our life, to never think more
highly of ourselves than we ought, to carry the needs of others before God’s
throne, to take up our cross daily, to intercede for the lost, to strengthen
our obedience, and to neutralize our sins. Prayer is not to be with many words
and showmanship. Prayer should be a humble state of affairs. God
knows what our needs are. But do we know what His desire is and others'
needs are? That is the purpose of prayer.
Sing: Whisper a prayer in the morning,
whisper a prayer at noon. Whisper a prayer in the evening. So keep
your heart in tune.
Thought For Today: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
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