Are We Actually Praying?

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I am guilty of referring  to prayer as working or not working; as if I’m turning the key in a car or flipping a light switch. Prayer is the privilege of communing with the all powerful, holy, benevolent God. He responds according to His will and time. The trouble is, I don’t always know what my needs are are or what is priority in God’s eyes. He is the Good Father, who loves me, knows my needs and always meets them. My vision is limited; He sees all.  

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19 NASB                                                                                                                            

 Yes, God wants us to bring all our requests to Him. He is our provider, but He created  us to enjoy a personal relationship with Him.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6 -7 NASB

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Notice, the scripture says to approach with thanksgiving, not demanding our way, and the promise to us is His peace. The priceless gift of His peace is not dependent on circumstances. It is the result of trusting God enough to leave our lives, our will, in His hands. Shouldn’t prayer be more about developing our relationship with Jesus than getting something from Him? What would happen if  our prayers  were a little less about gimmie God and more of, give me God. What if sometimes we just sought Him for Himself?          

 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalms 16:11 NASB

                                 © 2016 Rachael M Colby

Author: Rachael M. Colby

Rachel M. Colby has a heart for reconciliation and a passion to uplift those who serve in tough places. She writes to connect cultures’ questions with Christianity’s answers, inspire faith, and motivate. She is an award-winning writer in the categories of articles, poetry, devotions, essays, flash fiction, and children’s picture books. Her article The Integration of Oak Ridge (the subject of her WIP) won the 2022 Selah Award for Articles in Print at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is a longtime member of The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild and a protégé in the Cecil Murphey Mentoring program. Rachael's work has appeared on the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Blog, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Christian Devotions, Southern Ohio Christian Voice, Inkspirations Online, in the compilation books Creative Writing Journal: Faith Inspired Writing Prompts & Hope-Filled Poetry, Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders, and The Courage to Write: 62 Devotions to Encourage Your Writing Journey, and in the Oak Ridger newspaper. This Jamaican-born wife, mom, beach bum, artist, work in progress, makes her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She runs on copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, and a whole lot of “Help me, Jesus.”

12 thoughts on “Are We Actually Praying?”

  1. Pingback: Why, God? – Tattoo It On Your Heart

  2. Well said Rachael. He Is a Wonderful God to Praise, thank and truly appreciate for all He has done for us. He already knows our needs; but it is still good to ask.

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  4. That’s a great post! I really like how you said we need to go from gimme God to give me God. Can you imagine a friend coming to your house, and instead of greeting you and letting you say something, they immediately start to say “I need a new phone, I need help with the doctor bills, can you do something about mom’s bad back,” etc.
    If this doesn’t sound like the right way to treat our neighbors, how is it right for the King of kings when we come into His presence?
    Prayer is a privilege; let’s let the Lord know how grateful we are to be in His presence! Thank you Rachael!

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  6. I’ve reread your post and have another comment. It’s tempting to “get down to business” in prayer. isn’t it? Lord, you know about the water heater. The kids need new shoes. What are we going to do about the car repair? etc. etc etc. We want to get it done so we can mark it off of our to-do list, but this reduces prayer to a monologue when it should be a dialogue. Leave time in you prayers to be silent and wait before Him. Say “speak Lord, your servant is listening,” and the listen for that still, small voice. This goes against our “gotta have it now” mindset of today, but it’s a habit worth cultivating. What do you think?

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    1. Thomas, that is exactly what I meant by “handing Jesus a to-do list,” talking at Jesus instead of with Him and as you said, taking the time to listen; letting God talk. And I just deleted the rest of what I was going to say because I am going to continue this conversation in another blog post. Thanks for the inspiration. Ha-ha! You will have to wait. To be continued… 🙂

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  7. Our King is delighted when we come in to His presence when we pray, but let’s honor Him as we enter and not focus on our lists. He knows what we need even before we ask, so let’s determine to start like this:”I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart; I will enter His courts with praise.” Thank you for sharing!

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