Prayer, Part 2

Prayer is a integral part of the life of every believer.  Prayer is our open line of communication with our Heavenly Father.  Prayer is the means by which we speak with God and prayer can be the means by which God speaks to us.  Prayer should not be rejected but prayer should be embraced by each one of us as a means by which we communicate our sincere praise, adoration, worship and exaltation to God.  Prayer is not just used as a means to express to God our "spiritual wish list" although God does encourage us to share our needs with Him even though He is already aware of each one of them.  Prayer is an avenue of expression and communication in which we are able to draw closer to God and enter into a deeper sense of fellowship and relationship.

I can remember the sense of intimidation that I felt concerning prayer as a young believer and these feelings of intimidation even carried over into the development of my ministerial life.  I would listen to others as they described their approach to the development of their prayer life and I felt that I could never match their efforts or intensity.  My natural reaction to these emotions convinced me that since I could not compete with these "spiritual super-stars" that I would shun the development of my prayer life.  Little did I realize that the quality of my prayer life and not the quantity of my prayer life would be a deciding factor in my relationship with Christ.  I was captured by the spirit of comparison and that concept was hindering my relationship with Christ.  But it was during these moments of internal struggles that I realized that God was not comparing me to other believers.  It was me that was more interested in comparisons and I had allowed that attitude to become the focus of my prayers rather than fellowship with Christ being my focus.  As I allowed the Spirit to illuminate my spirit with this understanding I began to see a change in my approach to prayer time.  I have seen my desire to spend time with God become even more important as I followed God into the development of our relationship with each other.  Please remember that God is interested in developing relationship with you even more than we are interested in developing relationship with Him.  After all, it was Him who set in motion the plan for the redemption of humanity and all that we are doing is responding to that invitation.  Stop comparing yourself to others and listen for the Voice of God calling you to a time of fellowship and communication with Him.  You will be blessed, encouraged, and strengthened as you listen for His Voice and that Voice will call you into His presence for a time of intimate communion.