“The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory – for all its strength, it cannot save you. But the Lord watches over those who fear Him, those who rely on His unfailing love.” (Psalm 33:16-18)
When are you most driven to pray? A health-related problem? A financial matter? A relational crisis? A work issue? Something else that troubles you? Why do we think we need a reason to pray? On some levels it’s like asking: “When should I speak to my spouse? Friend?”
The Holy Spirit doesn’t give us the air we breathe, He IS the air we breathe! To save prayer for a crisis is to misunderstand the nature of prayer. Think of prayer as conversation with God. If you have a best friend, what do you talk with them about? EVERYTHING! I don’t need an excuse to call my wife or speak with her about something that’s going on in our lives.
That’s the nature of friendship – communication! Yet, too often when it comes to God it’s like we have to have a reason to speak with Him. Corrie Ten Boom asked an important question when she wrote: “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?“
What’s the purpose of a steering wheel? To give direction to the vehicle, right? You’re not going to make it very far if you’re missing a steering wheel. On the other hand, when do you need a spare tire? Usually, in an emergency! A tire goes flat, you run over a nail, any number of reasons, but they’re typically emergent, they need your immediate attention. Again, you’re not going to make it very far on a flat tire.
How do you view prayer? How you answer that is going to depend largely on how you view God. Is He “the man upstairs?” Or a Friend who sticks closer than a brother? Is God the proverbial “genie in the bottle” or our gracious Father from whom comes “grace to help us when we need it most.”
If crisis is the only time you think to pray, what does that tell you about your relationship with God? An unknown source said: “Jesus should be your first line of defense, not your last resort.” To only think of God when something is wrong is like only thinking of your spouse when you want sex. Ideally, prayer is the means of opening avenues of intimacy with God that only sex can open for a man and woman committed to one another in marriage.
Prayer should never be an afterthought, but a lifeline that is constantly open between us and our Father in heaven. Prayer is an open conversation that begins when I awaken and ends when I fall asleep. If you dread prayer or “never know what to say,” may I remind you that the best prayers I ever prayed were sitting silent in the Lord’s holy presence.
When I was a boy, I didn’t go with my dad hunting, fishing, or to look at a car he was interested in purchasing because I necessarily had interest in those things, I went because I wanted to spend time with my dad. He wasn’t a big talker, but I learned a lot about what kind of man he was by just being with him.
Often our most valuable time spent with God isn’t when we’re speaking, or even listening, it’s when we’re observing who He is and how He works in certain environments that can be life-changing for us.
During the first date I had after getting my driver’s license, we were on a two-lane road and as I approached a cross street where there were cars waiting to turn, the second car in line apparently didn’t see me coming and pulled out right in front of me. All I remember is slamming on the brakes and steering hard right to miss them. Miraculously, we avoided a collision and came to a stop just inches from a ditch. I didn’t have time or presence of mind to “pray,” but I didn’t have any question as to Who was in control of that car.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 