Let me start with a moment of honesty. It's easy to let our prayers become more of a routine rather than something we enjoy. As you work through that acronym of ACTS that we talked about yesterday, don't let that formula be the only way you talk to God. It's just an excellent place to start, but talking to God should, over time, become as natural to you as when you talk to one of your closest friends.
Most people I talk to wish they had a better prayer life than they do, and they always feel guilty because they aren't as connected to God through prayer as they hoped they would be.
Most people are still stuck thinking that they need to pray with big words for a long, long time, but we are learning that most prayers don't go on and on and on. They are short prayers that we pray all day long. We start our day, and spend our day and end our day just talking to God.
Today I want to share four more prayers that I pray about to God from time to time. These four prayers have helped me to connect with God.
The first prayer is:
1. GOD SEARCH ME prayer.
I ask God to search me because I know that I have blind spots and don't see things many times the way they really are. I see things the way I am. We all have filters that we look through that sometimes blind us to the truth about ourselves.
Now I don't pray the same "God search me" prayer every day because that would be weird. How would you like it if every time your friend came up to talk to you, they said the exact same thing they said to you the day before? Day after day after day. Wouldn't you think they were a few fries short of a happy meal?
Prayer is about talking to God about what is going on in our life. Life changes, and what we pray to God about will change as well.
Sometimes I will feel like God is distant from me. The Bible teaches that God will never leave us or forsake us, so when I feel that way, I know that I am the one who moved away from Him. When I feel this way, I always pray a "God search me" kind of prayer.
"Oh God, look deep into my heart and soul and expose if there is anything within me that isn't pleasing to You. If there is pride within me where I have depended on myself too much, reveal that to me. If there is a spirit of fear within me or greed or lust, or whatever, show it to me.
I don't want to do anything that would hinder what You want to accomplish. I don't want to get in Your way, so God, if there is anything within me that isn't right, that isn't pleasing to You, reveal what it is so I can make things right with You."
David prayed this kind of prayer in Psalm 139.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
David was saying God; I have blind spots. I don't see everything clearly, so reveal to me if there is anything in my life that isn't what You want from me. Reveal to me any false motives or false agendas. Search me, Lord. Search me.
Once you have prayed this type of prayer, I would encourage you just be still and listen to see if God reveals any area of your life that you need to talk to Him about. Many times, if we wait in silence for a few seconds, God will pop into your mind what you need to address. He will remind you of harsh words that were spoken or a condescending attitude that was given, and then you need to confess that as sin to God and ask Him to forgive you for what you did.
Another prayer I pray is:
2. GOD STRETCH ME
I pray these kinds of prayers when I feel like I am in a rut. I pray, 'God, please don't let me become satisfied or lazy. Stretch me and get me out of this rut."
When the first church started in Acts chapter 2, that group of people was trying to reach the world for Christ, and in doing so, they endured incredible opposition; the kind of opposition where people who'd become Christians would be beaten up and thrown in jail and later fed to lions just for being a Christian. So, what did these early Christians do? They got together, and they prayed. They did not pray for God to stop the opposition, but they prayed for courage despite the opposition.
Too often, we pray prayers that are all about our personal comfort. 'Oh, God, fix this. Do this for me, do that for me,' and when God doesn't come through the way we think He should have come through for us, we get mad and think God doesn't care about us.
Life is not about our personal comfort. It is not about advancing our little kingdom of mud that is here today and gone tomorrow. Life is about allowing God to stretch us even if it makes us nervous or uncomfortable.
Where do you need to be stretched today? Pray about that area of your life. "God stretch me to be the spouse that you need me to be. God, stretch me to be the parent my kids need me to be. God stretch me in my work, stretch me difference-maker. Stretch me and give me the courage to move forward in faith with whatever You have called me to say or do or be."
A third prayer I pray is:
3. GOD LEAD ME
When you are unsure of the next step to take, when you find yourself at a crossroad and don't know which direction to go, ask God to lead you. "Take my feet, Lord, and point them in the direction You want me to go. Take my hands, Lord, and lead them to help other people who You have put in my life. Take my mouth, Lord, and lead me to say words that bring hope, comfort, and encouragement to those who hear them.
Lead me to where You want me to go, to help those You want me to help, so that I might live the adventure of following You every moment of every day."
I ask God to guide me almost every single day. God, guide me in this conversation. God, guide me in this meeting. God, guide me in this project. Give me Your wisdom, so I know what You want me to do.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
God's plan is better. For God's sake and your sake, don't miss it. I continually pray and ask God, "what is the next step that you want me to take?" And then I sit, and I listen to hear what He might reveal the next step to be. I ask God all the time,
And the fourth type of prayer I pray is:
4. GOD USE ME.
God wants to use you. God uses imperfect people because that is the only kind of people that God has.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."
God is looking for anyone willing to be used by Him, and here is one of the greatest things I know about God. Your availability to God is more important to God than your abilities. If you make yourself available to God every day, He will reveal how you can help, serve, and make a difference in the world you live in.
The question is, are you willing to be used by God?
Through the prophet Ezekiel, God lamented, "I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV)
But I found no one. God is searching for a group of people who believe that God is still God and that God can always use ordinary people on their regular knees to see God do the extra-ordinary. Will you pray:
The adventure of living for God is before you. He will lead you into a significant life if only you ask Him too.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
