Am I Praying with My Whole Heart?

One of the great things about prayer is that it can be informal and intimate. Because Jesus opened the way for us into the throne room of God, we come with confidence to our Father. Our spontaneous outbursts of dismay or sorrow are heeded just as our more eloquent, well thought out expressions of thanksgiving or worship.

Occasionally, spiritual dryness prompts me to reflect on my relationship with God. Often at such times, I discover that the informal and intimate moments of prayer are entirely about me. To be honest, though my vocabulary may be that of a grown-up, my attitude is more like that of a whining child.

The sense of distance from God comes, not from His withdrawal from me, but my self-absorption.

I’m not really so much praying, as talking to myself. I’m not seeking God with all my heart to express my concerns and hear from Him; I’m just having a personal gripe session.

While many of us love, and rely on the truth of Jeremiah 29:13:

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (NIV).

we overlook Proverbs 1:28:

Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me (NIV).

When is the “then” of this statement? It is when we ignore what God is saying to us, when we will not accept His rebuke, when we exchange seeking Him for seeking our comfort and pleasure.

Today we can be thankful that God not only gives us His promise to reveal himself when we seek him with all our heart, he also helps us understand what that is.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, the influence of the world around me and the distraction of my own troubles often draw me away from seeking you with my whole heart. Open my heart to respond to You wholeheartedly. Be Thou my vision. Because of Jesus, amen.

Tweetables:

One of the great things about prayer is that it can be informal and intimate.

The sense of distance from God comes, not from His withdrawal from me, but my self-absorption.

Five Ways For Stronger Prayers (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)
Why Start Your Faith Journey with the Book of John? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)

Ron Hughes

Ron is president of FBH International , a multi-language media ministry and maintains an active itinerant speaking ministry in churches and conferences. Ron is a professional member of The Word Guild and has one published book, “Refresh: 19 ways to boost your spiritual life”, and is working on several other writing projects. Much of his writing is published on the ministry website and has been used in radio broadcasts.

Ron has been married to Debbie since 1976. They have four children, one of whom is married. They live on a 100 acre farm in the Niagara region which they share with a few horses, chickens, cats and a dog.