Prayer though, is a very, very important part of having a relationship with God. You can think of it as any other relationship. I assume that all of your friends have conversations with you, right? So, why would it be any different with God? When we pray we are in a sense conversating with God. We tell him what is on our heart (although he already knows), and we sit in stillness to hear from him.

I often go through things in my life where I really don’t know what to do, I could turn towards friends, and family first; but I have learned that it is always best to turn towards God and let him work on my heart and prepare me for his will. When we skip talking to God and end up using simple worldly wisdom, we could fall away from the direction and calling that God has placed on our lives. Our hearts could become hard, and we could place more credit in our own actions than in God’s.

Does this sound similar to you? Why do you turn to God first, or why do you not?

This is where I think fasting can help out. I am not a person who fasts too often, partially because I don’t really understand it, but I do know that when I do fast good things generally happen. I don’t mean good things like bricks of money falling from the sky. What I mean is that I can clear my mind and fill it with God again. I can get to a point where I am able to hear God’s voice again, and I can feel that peace that can only come from him.

So I want you to all consider taking the time to fast. Maybe you work in hard labor so you need food or you will pass out or something like that, so do something crazy… Fast on Saturday. I just started riding a bike everywhere so I found myself not fasting on the day which I usually did, but I have figured out a way to fast whether it means driving my car on a certain day, or only skipping a couple meals here and there. It is great to hear God’s voice clearer, and if you let him he will transform you through your dedication towards him.

Not only do I find prayer to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my day, I also find it to be the best way for me to get things off of my chest. I often find myself praying for my will. You know what I mean? I ask God for favor in certain areas of my life. I generally pray for God’s will too, but at times I am afraid to because I know that he might want to do things differently in my life than I do.

Last night as I was reading my Bible I read this passage (Matthew 26:39)…

39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

As I read this passage it dawned on me. We can pray for our will, but we need to do so in a humble way. We can’t do it in a way that places our needs at a higher level of importance than the things God needs to accomplish. Jesus was so afraid of what was going to happen to him the next day. He knew that he was going to be crucified, and he knew that the pain would be excrutiating. So he prayed that “the cup” would pass. He wanted so badly to go against the Father’s will, but he knew that the Father’s will was perfect. So at the end of his prayer, after asking for his own will, he said, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

As Chrisitians, being that we want to be Christ like, we need to take this example and understand it. When we pray for things, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask and request for things that we feel would make life a little bit better, but we need to remember to be completely submissive towards whatever it is that God decides to let occur in our lives. Although at times it seems like it would be so nice if God would just answer that one prayer that you think would turn your life around, but God sees it differently. He knows what does and what doesn’t fall into his plan.

Through the past couple of weeks I have found myself wanting to know what God has for me. I wanted to know why he let certain things happen, and I wanted to know when and if things would ever change in certain situations. But I realized something. I don’t need to know. If I knew then I would be like God, and that is what caused the fall of man in the first place (Genesis 3:5). So I have learned through praying and reading the Word that I just need to trust that God’s will is what is best. I don’t have to know what his will is, but I do need to trust in it.

Do you guys have anything to say about trusting God with our prayers? Does God really listen or does he only follow his will?

This time I noticed something, and I am not quite sure what to think about it, but I will tell you what my gut reaction is. I saw a man, from my church, who brought in a cloth. This cloth looked somewhat like something that a Jewish Rabbi would wear. It was white, long, and had stripes and tassels on it. As he began to pray he took the cloth and placed it over his head, and he placed his hands in the front of it so it wouldn’t touch his face, and so that he would still have room to pray.

I remember my Pastor once talking about how when Jesus talks about prayer in Matthew chapter 6 he brings up this same exact situation. To be more exact it is actually Matthew 6:6:

6But when you pray,^(A) go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.^(B) And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

You see, some people will say that you are supposed to go into your prayer closet, and that is what Jesus was talking about. I will be honest. I don’t know if that is what he meant. It sounds to me like he was saying go pray in private, but it isn’t too specific into where or how. But what I found to be interesting is that this man must have felt so strongly that Jesus was saying that we must go and pray in our prayer closet that he went and found out how the Jews would enter into there own prayer closets. I found this on the internet which talks a little bit about what the “shawl” was for:

In biblical times, Jewish men wore this garment called a TALITH, TALIS, TALIT or PRAYER SHAWL all the time — not just at prayer. TALITH contains two Hebrew words; TAL meaning tent and ITH meaning little. Thus, you have LITTLE TENT. Each man had his own little tent…

Six million Jews could not fit into the tent of meeting that was set up in the Old Testament. Therefore, what was given to them was their own private sanctuary where they could meet with God. Each man had one! His Prayer Shawl or Talis. They would pull it up over their head, forming a tent, where they would begin to chant and sing their Hebrew songs, and call upon Elohim, Yaweh, Adonai. It was intimate, private, and set apart from anyone else — enabling them to totally focus upon God. This was their prayer closet! (http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-8/Prayer_Shawls_2.htm)

Why did this man feel that he had to imitate Jewish traditions to be biblical? I will be honest. I see this as very Pharisaical. By this man doing this and not one other person, I felt that he was trying to make a point, he was trying to say that he had the right way. And you know what is funny about right ways? There is usually only one. So that means that if he was right in doing that, then we were wrong by not, and that is not something that I believe. I believe that we pray correctly. We don’t need our prayer closet. We need the Holy Spirit! That is how we communicate and enter into the presence of God, not by some shammy or shall, or whatever you wanna call it.

I’m sorry I didn’t mean to start ranting… But what do you think? Is it okay for people to feel that if they do things a certain way they will have more favor with God? Or is this even accurate? Is there another place in the Bible where it talks about this? Help me out!!!

When we pray it is so important to remember to pray for the will of God. Yes, we can pray for many things, but we don’t need to beat around the bush. Just ask God. He already knows, and he will answer your prayers according to his will.

I have found that when I am frustrated and I decide not to pray, that the many stresses of life slowly consume me. But when I finally decide to humble myself before my Creator, almost immediately, I will regain a healthy perspective. Prayer helps me remember that I am not in control, but God is.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Timothy 5:16-19)