A heart of prayer…….

“The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
against those who do evil.”   I Peter 3:12  NLT

When we pray we must humble ourselves and not be self-righteous.   Jesus gave a parable which illustrates this requirement very well.

In Luke 18:9-14 we read; “…. Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:  “Two men went to the Temple to pray.  One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else.  For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery.  I’m certainly not like that tax collector!   I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed.  Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’  I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The attitude we have when we approach God in prayer and worship is very important.  If we approach God with an attitude of showing great pride and arrogance in ourselves and brag on how great we are as prayer warrior, then God will despise this kind of prayer.

Our prayers must be like the attitude of the tax collector.   What Jesus is trying to teach us here, is that when we approach God in prayer we must be humble, not proud or self-righteous, but modest, unpretentious and our prayers must be from our heart.

Our prayers should not be to impress others, because God will not be impressed with such prayers.   Jesus said in Matthew 6:5, 7: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.  I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.  When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do.  They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again”.

The only reward someone who prays a prayer like this receives is the recognition from men because God will not heed his prayer. We are also warned not to use vain repetitions, such as repeating something over and over.  This type of prayer makes one a hypocrite because it is pretentious.

Do you know anyone who likes to brag about how much they pray, how often, how hard or how zealous they are about prayer?

They are simply bragging and trying to impress you with their own self-righteousness.   They want you think they are so close to God that they are your connection to God.

Almost daily we read on “fb” where someone is patting them self on the back about what a great prayer warrior they are or how much time they spend in prayer and worship each day.

They want others to know, just like the Pharisees, how super spiritual they are.   They love to tell others how they go into their prayer closet and do NOT come out until God releases them.   They are pompous, arrogant and self-righteous! 

To me, a true prayer warrior NEVER brags about how much time they pray or worship or puts the spot light upon them self.   They quietly pray and guard their prayer time.

They pray because of their relationship with God.  They humble themselves before God, seeking Him and praying for others in secret.  Their heart is focused on Jesus and His Kingdom.   Not their egos or accolades!

In fact, most of the prayer warriors that I have met never revealed who they are or how much time they spend in prayer or where they spend it. 

 God reveals who His faithful and humble prayer warriors are. 

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.  II Chr. 7:14 KJV