I used to think praying was really boringā¦.borderline a waste of time. Growing up, I didnāt fully understand the depth of prayer because all I could think of was how long they were or how many times repeated a certain phrase and things like that. But Iām grateful that my personal relationship with God has completely changed my view on prayer! Now I see it as one of the ways I can communicate with and grow closer to God.
I see prayer as one of the basics of a relationship with God. Thereās no way to grow if you do not pray and Iām glad that this is something I understand now. I think a lot of us know prayer is so important, but Iām sure that some of us who were never really taught how to pray. Well, isnāt it great that we serve a God that doesnāt leave us hanging?!
In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us some things to keep in mind when we go into a time of prayer:
Our prayers are to and for God (vv.5-6).
God doesnāt need to be impressed. I used to think that I need to say all these fancy words and pray in certain public settings because it would make people think Iām spiritually mature or really in touch with God. What I didnāt realize is that itās pretty much the opposite. I donāt need to put on a show or prove to people that I can pray. I donāt pray to entertain them.
Our prayers can be simple (vv.7-8).
It can be so easy to fall into the desire of wanting to pray like someone you know or someone youāve heard then try to imitate their style. This can often lead to empty prayers or us using words we donāt fully understand. We donāt need to use a thesaurus when we go to pray. Itās not about using words beyond our vocabularies, itās about the position of our heartās when we pray. Itās okay for our prayers to be simple as long as our intentions are pure.
Our prayers can clear our hearts (vv.14-15)
Itās important for us to be honest in our prayers. One of things that is asked of us is that we forgive those who have hurt us. We do this so that God will forgive us of our own wrongdoings. If you think about it, it really does not make sense for us to hold grudges against people, because we also make mistakes, all the time. And if God would pile up our sins, instead of forgiving us and clearing our debts, we wouldnāt be where we are today. Forgiveness helps us clear our hearts of any unnecessary weight. Itās not always easy. Itās okay to ask God to let God know youāre struggling to forgive someone and ask for Him to help you through that process. Again, itās about the sincerity of what youāre asking.
As we grow in our relationship with God, weāll find more ways to grow our prayer life. Itās important that weāre consistent in our prayers because itās one way for Godās glory to be revealed to us.
Hope this post was helpful! Have questions? Need prayer? Iām here to help!
Much love always,
Kumam ā¤ļø













