Tuesday, August 20, 2019

"When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases..." Matthew 6:7-8


In my prayer life, I find it easy to default back to praying empty phrases when I am not engaged with the Father.  I often catch myself saying things which are true, but not relevant to where my heart is at the time of my prayer.  Often telling God how much I appreciate His presence and saying how much He loves me when my heart and mind are a million miles away from His presence.

God does sense and know that we are a people who are driven by our thought life and our physical characteristics.  In Proverbs 23:7 The Aramaic, the Septuagint, and a few Hebrew manuscripts read like this “Eating with him is like eating with someone with a hair in his throat—his mind is not with you!”, this describes someone who has distractions or irritations stemming from physical conditions which inhibit one from sharing intimate fellowship with another, this can be terribly debilitating especially if one is desiring fellowship with God. 

It is at those moments that I have to purposefully dial back and focus on my heart condition and where I am in regards to my relationship with the Father, taking inventory of my physical as well as my emotional state and begin to give words to where my heart is and what my true needs are.  It is only from that place that I can begin true dialogue with the Father which touches His heart and reveals to Him that I am weak and need His touch.  It also reveals to me that when I come to the Father I need to decompress and let go of everything that occupies my headspace and allow the peace of God to enter in.

I am so glad that our Heavenly Father has compassion on us and does want to meet us where we are at, even at times when we are struggling to find a place of rest so that His peace can penetrate our walls of protection.  He always invites us to enter in with Him, even during times when we feel isolated and alone, the invitation is especially welcoming at those times to help us break down our resistance and surrender to His unmerited favor which is His signature motive.

Jesus said that “…your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him”, It is with that awareness of God’s omniscience that I begin to let my guard down and rest my many thoughts from racing so fast in my mind driving my emotional well-being.  As I choose to put these thoughts into a state of rest I can begin to sense God’s presence again and my prayers become relevant, and in the moment as I focus on Him I am captured by His presence as opposed to my prayer being about me and my needs alone.

“And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation”.   Philippians 2:5 (TPT)

Jesus had a mindset that always pleased the Father, even though the stresses and distractions of His ministry were great, He always found a place to dial into the peace of the Father and found dialogue to keep Him focused and centered on His purpose and goal. 

I believe that as we honestly reach out to the Father with our transparency and vulnerability, He reaches back and lets us know that His affection for us is undiminished by our lack of trust, and that His affection is only increased by the abundance of love He has for us.

“...Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”   Ephesians 3: 18–19 (TPT)

May you be blessed with the fullness of God’s presence today as you open up to Jesus and let Him express to you His “astonishing love in all its dimensions” which is beyond measure and our understanding.
Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett

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