Most Beloved Lord, You have told me that if I will seek You early, I will find You. Therefore, each day when I arise, I approach Your throne with humility and praise You for Your holiness and wonderful things You have done for me. I lay my requests at Your feet knowing You accept them and want to help me resolve them. I can never give You enough thanks for Your generosity because I have never missed a meal … or worried about what I would wear … or ask where I would lay my head at night. When I look around and see the sun in the day and the stars at night … when I look upon a newborn baby … I can’t help but marvel at Your wisdom and creativity. I know that everything You made was for the benefit of all of mankind. Your peace is a gift that acts as an antidote for whatever ails me. In Your arms, I know things will go well for me and I’ll be safe. In such an atmosphere, I can be open and honest with You.
I have come to realize that prayer is more about the fruit of my heart rather than my head. Therefore, I need not worry about offering glorious or pious words, but a simple, sincere and effective expression of my heart. I need not fret about finding beautiful thoughts and fine rhetoric … I just need to talk with You. I must keep in mind that my prayer time is an opportunity to go one-on-one with You in open and honest dialogue that is filled with praise and pouring out of my heart to You. Your role is to be helpful and mine is to enlist Your help. Our time together is a time of refreshing and intimacy. In prayer, I wrap my arms around You and submit to Your power and will. In Your arms, I can unload my fears, worry and doubt and have them replaced with faith, hope and joy. In prayer, my objective should not be a selfish indulgence of my wants but an attentive listening to what You have to say.
In concert with my prayers, I must present You with my works (the successes and failures) in order to entwine my life with Yours. In union with You, I know that all of my requests will be heard and dealt with in a most effective way. As I approach Your throne and make my needs known to You, we will discuss them in the language of love which avoids conflict. I believe that regular dialogue is something You desire and is good for our relationship. You have instructed me in Your Word to pray without ceasing because this is what You want. Therefore, I will come to You daily, praising You and wanting to draw near to You. What I know is this … I love You and want to keep the doors of communication open so I can receive Your guidance in everything I do. I believe that as I learn more about how to pray, You will honor my diligence with joy and fulfillment. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Luke 11:1-2 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray say, Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done …”