Tag: The Heart

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Can Your Prayers Be Wrong?

MAY 30

MATTHEW 6:7_for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Can you pray wrong? Absolutely. James 4:3 (KJV), “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” You can pray and never receive when you ask for something which will be harmful to your character. You may think of lust as sexual, but you can lust for clothes, cars, homes, gadgets, and many kinds of things. It isn’t wrong to pray for needs or even for wants. It’s what we’ve learned over and over – the condition of the heart. The heart is the center of lust and of righteousness. God, who reads the heart, knows which reigns. The one that reigns produces the prayers

In this verse, Jesus refers to praying to idols and false gods. Psalm 115:4-8 (KJV), “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”

Idol worshipers must think if they babble enough they will be heard. The problem with that is idols “have ears but they hear not.”

One of the best stories on idols and those who worship them is found in I Kings 18. Read this powerful, and somewhat humorous, account of God’s prophet Elijah, wicked King Ahab, Queen Jezebel, the false god Baal, and Baal’s priests.

Learn what happens when the priests call on Baal, and Elijah calls on God.

PRAYER

True God, Please show me when I am praying selfish prayers. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ knows a destructive prayer—He does not answer!                                           

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Keep Praying!

MAY 28

MATTHEW 6:7_use not vain repetitions…

Vain repetitions means to automatically repeat phrases with no heart felt meaning. This does not mean you shouldn’t pray a certain prayer more than one time, or join in unity to pray something like the Lord’s Prayer. There is power in unified prayer. The key is, as always, whether the group is unified in heart before Holy God. Matthew 18:20 (KJV), “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” I believe God loves to hear unified prayer. 

Neither does this mean that if you have been fervent in prayer but have not received an answer you should stop praying. Luke 18:3-7 (KJV), “And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him [the judge], saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming [emphasis mine] she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”‘

This judge didn’t even believe in God. But he did what was right for the widow, because he grew weary of her continual asking. Jesus says God will do much better than people – keep praying!

PRAYER

Holy Jesus, Praise You that You never grow weary of me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                          

Christ never grows weary of my prayers—He hears me! 

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The Depths of Your Heart

MAY 25

MATTHEW 6:6_and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…

Jesus says the Father is in the closet with you.  When He says the Father seeth in secret He means more than vision. God reads your soul. He sees everything in your mind and thoughts. God sees deeply – into the very depths of your heart. He knows if there is room for Him in that depth, or if it is consumed with you. God also knows if your desire is to replace self with the Savior. He can help you with that.

God’s desire is for you to bring all your emotions of pain, heartbreak, fear, anger, and unforgiveness to Him in prayer. If you can trust God is with you in the closet, you will begin to trust He is with you anywhere. The more you trust in God’s presence, the more confident you will grow in your relationship with Him. 

Listening is every bit as important to prayer time as talking. Remember that falling in love sequence? If you do all the talking, and never any listening, then you will not know your loved one at all. It’s difficult to truly love someone you don’t know.

The more you hear God, the more you become salt and light.

PRAYER

God Who Speaks, Please speak to my heart, and help me trust You are always with me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is with me—I want to be with Him!

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In The Closet

MAY 24

MATTHEW_6:6 and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…

Prayer time in the closet is a two way street. In order to give more emphasis, Jesus says more than enter the closet. He adds shut the door. This is even more private, more intimate. A closed door keeps the outside in its place – out! It also keeps the inside in its place – behind a closed door!

This is a time to pour out your heart – all those innermost thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Outside the door are the things which distract – social media, games, sports, TV. Inside the closet are only you and the Heavenly Father. 

This is a time to learn more of the One who loves you so deeply. This is how it becomes a two way street. It’s not just you speaking with the Father. It is also the Father speaking with you. You have a heart full to say to Him, and the Father has a heart full to say to you.

To hear everything the Father has to say requires Bible time as well as prayer time. Adding the Bible into your prayer life (like those Psalms) is a great way to learn to pray.

PRAYER

God Who Hears, Praise You that You hear every word of my mouth, and every beat of my heart. I long to hear You as well. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

 Christ hears all my prayers—I will hear His words to me!

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Covenants of Your Youth

MAY 23

MATTHEW 6:6_But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet…

There are times when it is appropriate to talk with your loved one publicly. Those conversations are not from the depth of the heart.

Private conversations build love. The more private the conversation, the stronger the love.  The more private the conversation, the better you get to know each other. The more trust builds. Falling in love with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit follows the same path. 

For true love to develop between people you need to be of the appropriate age. You also need to be in the appropriate circumstances in life. It requires a man and a woman – not a boy and a girl. 

For true love to develop with the Savior the younger you get to know Him, the better. I Timothy 4:12 (KJV), “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Make a covenant with God in your youth. Ezekiel 16:60 (KJV), “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.”

God remembers the covenants of your youth.

PRAYER

King of Kings, I praise You that You do not believe I am too young to make a covenant of love with You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ loves children and youth—He loves me!