What It Means to Pray

My experiment worked!

All last week…and this week…I started my morning prayers by requesting of the Lord that His name be glorified here on earth as it is in heaven.

And my morning prayer time instantly became a time of worship and praise!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my morning prayers do not come easily.

I am distracted especially since I pray in my classroom before my day begins.

I start off with good intentions, but then my mind wanders to papers that need to be graded, emails that need to be answered, and assignments that need to be written.

Sigh.

I remember one Bible teacher told me years ago how she would enter into her closet with every intention of praying to Jesus, but then she would see her shoes needed arranging, clothes needed to be hung, and before she knew it, her entire closet had been cleaned out and organized!

That’s how we humans are: easily distracted.

Other times, our prayers are too self-centered and not focused on praising God. I know I fall into this trap often.

I start off with the desire to lift others up in prayer, but then the prayer becomes all about me and my concerns.

That’s why understanding HOW to pray is most important.

Dr. R.C. Sproul writes about this in his Tabletalk magazine:

“Understanding how to pray is the best way to address these difficulties. God has not left us without guidance. Jesus himself gave us the Lord’s Prayer…” (November 2012, p 54).

Yes!  God is so good to us in that He did not leave us without a way to communicate with Him.

That is why I wanted to begin each of my prayers with a request that His very name be sanctified…set apart as holy…and glorified by every living thing on earth because He alone is worthy of our worship and adoration.

The Lord did not disappoint! 

I immediately felt a sense of His presence and peace while the Holy Spirit laid concerns on my heart that I, in turn,  laid at His feet.

Praise God!

Psalm 54:6-

I will bring a gift

and offer a sacrifice

to you, LORD.

I will praise your name

because you are good.

So, if your prayer time has been suffering lately due to many of life’s distractions, take the time to read the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 54 or any of the fantastic prayers found throughout the Bible to teach you how to focus your prayer time on the Lord.

Lift up His name as holy! Focus on worshiping the Lord first and foremost.

I promise you, your prayer life will take on a whole new meaning and your life will be forever changed!

After all, isn't that what prayer time is all about?

Blessings,

Ruth