“The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.” (Proverbs 20:27 NLT)
What’s the driving force of your life? What gets you up in the morning and energizes your steps each day? Why are you taking up space on planet earth and enjoying the privileges of life? What are your goals, aspirations, desires, hopes, dreams as you draw your first breath each new day?
Why the questions? Because they help us see what drives us, what motivates us, not only to do what we do, but be what we are. If you had to boil it down to one thing that for you is THE key to who you are, what would it be? For me it’s childlike prayer.
Prayer is my link to the Father from whom ALL blessings flow. James 1:17 reminds us: “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” Apart from my connection with the Father through faith in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, I would be lost and as alone as a person floating in space.
My motive for living is to please, honor, and glorify my Heavenly Father and to seek to live my life in conformity to His will. And there’s only one way that will ever happen – prayer. Whatever we think, say, or do must flow from time spent with the Father through Christ to His Son.
To believe we have the wherewithal to draw a breath without Him is to ignore the only power available to us to live in conformity to His will. He IS our life, so, to not allow prayer to be our highest goal and strongest motive to do ANYTHING is to misunderstand the nature of prayer. Prayer isn’t bowing our head and closing our eyes, that’s simply a posture of prayer.
Prayer is like breathing, it’s the natural flow of our spirit living in harmony with our Father’s heart. Yes, of course, there are times we pause and find a quiet place to share specific concerns with the Lord, but as we go through our day, we should treat prayer as we would a conversation with a friend as we walk in a park. Eugene Peterson nails it when he writes: “Prayer is the way we work our way out of the comfortable but cramped world of self and into the spacious world of God.”
Our motive to pray isn’t to get something, but to learn better how to listen to the Spirit’s voice and to honor and glorify our Savior. I’m reminded of Dr. Billy Graham’s words: “Be sure that your motive in praying is to glorify God.” Too often our only desire in prayer is to persuade God to do what we ask, rarely, if ever stopping to consider He gives better gifts to those with whom He walks the closest (think of Jesus, the Prophets and Disciples).
The best gift He can or will ever give is the gift of Himself. If all we want from Him is answers, we’ve completely missed the point of prayer. No one heard God, the Father, more clearly or obeyed Him more fully than the Lord Jesus, in whose steps we are seeking to follow as God’s children. Please don’t let your relationship with the Lord Jesus be at its core a religious exercise or routine void of emotion, enthusiasm, and energy. Love the Lord with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength (body).
Put your heart into your prayers, believing He hears and longs to respond in meaningful and helpful ways. In my experience, He doesn’t always answer immediately, exactly as I’ve prayed, but He gives me clues that He’s working, asking me to maintain faith and patience as He works in the life of each one for whom I’ve prayed.
When my motive in prayer is His glory, honor, and praise, sin loses it’s grip on me and it’s easier to resist the enemy’s advances.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 