Living a 220 life

Prayer; an act of humility

August 11, 2009 on 11:59 am | In humility, prayer | No Comments

“Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)

Why do you pray? I know when I stopped to actually think about the reason I pray I was a bit shocked and embarrased. When you’re honest with yourself and seek out the true reason you pray you may be very surprised. Some of my reasons were: to ask for something, because I was told in church to pray, because prayer is how I get a better relationship with Jesus, and because that’s how to be more spiritual like D.L. Moody, Dawson Trotman, or Diedrich Bonhoffer. As I looked at my reasons for praying they were all self centered and about my own glory.

As I read Psalm 55 I began to realize something about prayer. In verse 16 David says, “I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me.” Then David says that he’ll pray morning, noon, and evening. David revealed his reason for prayer and that reason was that he truely believed he could do nothing without the Lord. David wasn’t about just asking for things; no, David was all about resting in the power of God to sustain daily life. The reason David could and would pray so much is that he understood his own frailty and absolute need for the Lord’s intervention in his life.

My friends, how’s your prayer life? Mine is no where near where it should be or where I’d like it to be. As I ask myself why, the answer is a loud and resounding ARROGANCE! I don’t pray more because I don’t truely see the need in my life for more prayer. I say this out of complete embarrasement that it may help you, but my friends, we pray because we need the Lord in our lives day in and day out. Won’t you commit along with me to diligently seek the Lord in prayer. Not by our own strength though. Let us pray that the Spirit will reveal our frailty and our need for Jesus day in and day out. AMEN!