There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under the Sun. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Sweet Honesty
If you could say one prayer and have it answered what would it be? Just one prayer – the prayer of a life time and you can ask for one thing and know it will come to pass. It will happen, for you, to you this one thing that you long for. What would it be?
Prayer has a special power to not only get God’s attention but to show our inner hearts, to lay them bare in a way no other form of conversation can. Our hurts and heartfelt longings lay out before us besides all the rough and tumble of our endless strivings and struggle for our daily bread.
Moses stood before God and pleaded for the salvation of Israel. He begged for them, despite his own anger and disappointment at their idolatry and disobedience, he begged for their lives even offering to surrender his own. He was willing to stand before the anger of God and to plead and risk all. Moses had the heart of a shepherd, a heart that sacrifices self without a moment’s hesitation for the lives of his sheep.
No fancy rhetoric, no politicians babble, in the honesty of prayer he showed what mattered to him most. Moments of clarity often come in prayer. We come to God with our needs and wants, our confusions and inner chaos and in the quietness of submission as we talk out the clutter in our minds the focus of our lives and hearts becomes clear.
It is often said that prayer is a gift and a privilege, but it also a challenge. Do you dare to listen to the balance of your words and desires? Can you linger long enough in meditation to see beyond your shopping list of needs and wants - to see your inner core revealed and laid bare?
Jesus on the cross, dying and in agony, sought God’s forgiveness for those who had caused his pain. His mind was fixed on those that mattered to him, those he was seeking and suffering to save. Just like Moses he was centred on those around him and not on himself alone. His was a life of purpose, service and care. He too had the heart of a shepherd.
Wander through the Bible if you will and see what people prayed for - Solomon asking for wisdom so he could fulfil his role as leader correctly, Jabez asking for more land and a life free from pain, Jonah in the belly of the fish offering a prayer of praise.
What fills your heart, what longing drives you? Or are you being driven by the busyness of this life so much that you have lost sight of yourself? Perhaps it’s time for you to regain your position in humanity. Stop, take time to pray, and rediscover your life’s true centre.
Follow those who did great things – take time to pray.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NIV)
If you could say one prayer and have it answered what would it be? Just one prayer – the prayer of a life time and you can ask for one thing and know it will come to pass. It will happen, for you, to you this one thing that you long for. What would it be?
Prayer has a special power to not only get God’s attention but to show our inner hearts, to lay them bare in a way no other form of conversation can. Our hurts and heartfelt longings lay out before us besides all the rough and tumble of our endless strivings and struggle for our daily bread.
Moses stood before God and pleaded for the salvation of Israel. He begged for them, despite his own anger and disappointment at their idolatry and disobedience, he begged for their lives even offering to surrender his own. He was willing to stand before the anger of God and to plead and risk all. Moses had the heart of a shepherd, a heart that sacrifices self without a moment’s hesitation for the lives of his sheep.
No fancy rhetoric, no politicians babble, in the honesty of prayer he showed what mattered to him most. Moments of clarity often come in prayer. We come to God with our needs and wants, our confusions and inner chaos and in the quietness of submission as we talk out the clutter in our minds the focus of our lives and hearts becomes clear.
It is often said that prayer is a gift and a privilege, but it also a challenge. Do you dare to listen to the balance of your words and desires? Can you linger long enough in meditation to see beyond your shopping list of needs and wants - to see your inner core revealed and laid bare?
Jesus on the cross, dying and in agony, sought God’s forgiveness for those who had caused his pain. His mind was fixed on those that mattered to him, those he was seeking and suffering to save. Just like Moses he was centred on those around him and not on himself alone. His was a life of purpose, service and care. He too had the heart of a shepherd.
Wander through the Bible if you will and see what people prayed for - Solomon asking for wisdom so he could fulfil his role as leader correctly, Jabez asking for more land and a life free from pain, Jonah in the belly of the fish offering a prayer of praise.
What fills your heart, what longing drives you? Or are you being driven by the busyness of this life so much that you have lost sight of yourself? Perhaps it’s time for you to regain your position in humanity. Stop, take time to pray, and rediscover your life’s true centre.
Follow those who did great things – take time to pray.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NIV)