Prayer Found In The
Heart
2 Samuel 7:27
Prayer is one of those holy, spiritual
activities that is better practiced than written about or discussed. It is an
intensely personal activity, an activity that modesty always keeps hidden away
in the closet,out of public view. Yet, prayer is a
subject about which there is much confusion. A few, simple facts revealed in
Holy Scripture need to be constantly kept in mind.
First, TRUE PRAYER ARISES FROM THE HEART.
David did not find a prayer in his books, or in his memory, or even in his
mouth, but in his heart. Far too often, I fear, my prayers arise from my lusts,
my personal desires, rather than from a heart of faith that seeks the will and
glory of God (James 4:2-4). God listens only to what the heart speaks in
prayer. He has no regard for the sounds of our mouths, or the thoughtless,
selfish, self-centered desires of our flesh. Therefore, we should carefully
weigh our words before God, and prepare our hearts to pray. McCheyne said,
"A great part of my time is spent getting my heart in tune for
prayer." Yet, we ought to approach God with the simplicity of a child
speaking to his father, with absolute confidence and sincerity. "God
respecteth not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the
rhetoric of our prayers, how long they are; nor the music of our prayers, how
methodical they are; but the divinity of our prayers, how heart sprung they
are. Not gifts, but graces prevail in prayer" (John Trapp).
Secondly, IF PRAYER IS FOUND IN THE HEART,
GOD PUT IT THERE. Prayer is the communication of a believer's spirit with God
who is Spirit by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit.He teaches us to
pray by showing us what the will of God is. He does this by his Word, by his
providence, and by putting a burden upon our hearts that will not go away. Then
he graciously inclines our hearts to pray, to seek what God has purposed to do.
He has many ways of doing that (Psa. 107:1-31).
Thirdly, GOD WILL PERFORM THE THING THAT
HE PUTS IN YOUR HEART TO SEEK BY EARNEST PRAYER. True prayer is seeking the
will of God by the Spirit of God, through faith in the Son of God. And whatever
we ask according to his will, he will do (I John
NURSERY DUTY
TODAY: Diane Campbell
Don Fortner