I often hear people saying statements such as, "Oh my God, I am praying that he asks me to prom!" or "Hopefully I'll be getting that blue coach bag, just pray that it isn't sold out!" In the society we live in today, it is easy to fall into the materialistic pleasures of this world and then actually forget what we should be praying for. We begin to fall into the mindset that if we pray for that car, or that boy, that God will inevitably give it to us. We tend to view God as a genie that awaits and grants our every wish. So, when we are wanting something new, or wishing for something that seems out of reach we pray and ask God to pleeeaaassssee give it to us!
This is how I used to view God and prayer. It was something I did when I needed something. When I wanted something. It took me a while to realize that 1) God is SO much bigger than that, and 2) The ability to pray is so much greater than the stupid little things I was asking for. I think we underestimate our ability to pray.
How great is it that we can pray?!
We need to see prayer as a GIFT. Something we were given. The ability to speak to our Lord and Savior. To ask Him for guidance. To praise Him. It is such an exciting thing, and now that I see it this way, I couldn't imagine seeing it any other way! Now, don't get me wrong, I still have my bouts where I am praying and half way through I stop and think about what I just prayed for, and I realize that it was worthless. But if we begin to see prayer as a gift, it becomes something that we don't want to waste, and often times when we see it as something bigger than us, we begin to make our prayers much more bold and exciting. We stop praying for the boyfriend, and we begin to pray for the atheist cousin. We stop praying for the purse, and begin to pray for the homeless man that you see on your way to school every morning.
Why pray simple little prayers, when we have the ability to pray BOLD and AUDACIOUS prayers?!
Matthew 7:7 says,
”Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
Another concept we need to grasp, is that praying doesn't have to always be asking for something. How often do you just stop and THANK Him for the sun coming up, or the wind blowing, or the flowers blooming. There are thousands of things EVERYDAY to be thankful for, so why not just tell him?!
I once heard of a technique to remember while you are praying. It is called, The Five Finger Prayer.
1) Your thumb is nearest to you, so pray for your loved ones and those closest to you.
2) Next is your pointer finger, often used to instruct, so pray for your leaders, teachers, doctors, ministers, etc.
3) The next finger is the tallest finger, so pray for the authorities or those higher than us. (President, leaders in business and politics) They are in charge, and need God's guidance.
4) The fourth finger is our weakest finger. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5) Lastly is our pinkie finger, the littlest of them all. Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your Pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.
(http://biblestudyplanet.com/the-5-finger-prayer/)
I am so grateful for the ability to pray. To me, it is a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. Let us remember that we were called to be BOLD and God expects prayers that can shake nations. Our generation can be so powerful when we learn this secret of prayer. That is the only thing we have. His word and our prayers.
Why would you settle for less?
