If you cannot read the message below, please click here to view this message online.
\nNo Pretending<\/p>\n
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:5-6 <\/p>\n
How are you doing in your walk with the Lord? One sure way to check is to examine your prayer life. <\/p>\n
You can go to church and do all kinds of “religious” things, but nobody ever goes behind closed doors and gets on their knees to pretend. Why? Because alone in your room you have an audience of One. It’s just you and God and there’s no fooling Him! <\/p>\n
Prayer is the truest test of our genuine heart for the Lord.
\nNow I’ve heard people voice a lot of frustration about the whole prayer thing. Can you relate to any of these? <\/p>\n
Some people say: “I can’t think of enough stuff to pray about. I get alone with the Lord and I go through two or three things, like -Bless Aunt Martha’ and -Help me at work today,’ and I run out of things to say.” How do you remember all the things to buy at the grocery store? Make a list! Same for prayer. At the top of a page, write “Some things I want to pray about,” and list names and situations. Then go to prayer, unburdening your heart to the Lord about each one. This will help you focus. <\/p>\n
Others say, “My problem is that I’ll be praying and my mind will wander.” Like, “Lord, please help Jane today. Oh yeah, Jane. Wow-she’s got a lot of problems”\u00a6” and then your mind goes off. Here’s help: try praying out loud. Remember God is in the room with you; just talk to Him. You’ll find it a lot easier time staying focused. <\/p>\n
You say, “I begin to pray and then I start to doubt.” This is the enemy attacking you. I share this with you to alleviate your guilt if you’ve ever experienced that. But here’s the key to what to do when that happens: get plugged back into the power source of prayer. That’s the Lord. Confess to Him your areas of doubt and ask Him to increase your faith. And He will!<\/p>\n
Have you sensed a growing distance from the Lord, or need to bring some burden before Him that you’ve been carrying around yourself? Get alone with God. Pour out your heart to Him in faith. If the Lord is talking to you about this, don’t wait another moment.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2007 Walk in the Word. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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