There are just too many things that require prayer! What I hear and see creates an overflowing amount of prayer requests and I am feeling overwhelmed by the commitment require. To feel as if I am giving an adequate amount of time to daily prayer I attempt to jot down a list of people or concerns that I want to commit to God, and then start praying through them. This list barely brushes the surface of the things I should be praying about. I should be burdened to pray more for those not directly connected to me, but it just seems too much. Even my own prayer requests seem long suffering and drawn out. At times I become so overwhelmed that I skip praying altogether. I can’t handle any more prayer requests!
That’s the thought that came to me today as I opened my prayer journal. What a strange idea to have. Perhaps I feel overwhelmed because I have no real control over the prayer’s outcome. Here I am, sitting with my list, that has many of the same requests as yesterday, and I can do nothing more than pray about each and every one of them hoping that something might happen. I am left with the wait, the present time that does not know what is to come.
It really got me thinking about what prayer is about and who it is for. When I view prayer from the prospective of seeing my precious time getting snapped up in an ever increasing amount of burdens am I really treating my communing time with my dear Father with the seriousness and humility that it requires? Is this a reflection of a heart willing to be transformed by grace? Sounds more like the selfish desires of the sinful nature viewing prayer as an obligation rather than a privilege. I often fall into the trap of praying out of duty rather than in faith. I won’t let go to the fears and foolishly prefer to carry the strain on my own shoulders rather than coming to Him in humble surrender.
God knows the burdens of our hearts, even before we even speak them, but He still allows us the precious opportunity to share them in sweet fellowship with Him. Prayer is less about what we can do and more about how much we need Him. It shifts the thoughts from self-reliance to faith, wishful thinking to hope, anxiety to peace and transforms burdens to love. Prayer is a means of witnessing and believing in God’s work in our own life and in the lives of others.
I want to be so burdened by a desire to pray. I need prayer to naturally flow out of a heart that longs to see His will be done in my life and in the lives of others. I desire to spend time communicating with Him and allowing His Spirit to renew my heart and mind through our fellowship. Prayer needs to become less of a to do and more of a loving dialogue without an end.
Father, teach me to lift my burdens, thanksgiving and praise to Your loving ear at any time and any where. May I truly believing that You are faithful and acknowledge my total dependence on You. Burden my heart and mind with the desire to seek fulfilment in only what can be found in You alone. May my prayers flow out of a heart of love and a longing for You to be real in my life. Amen.
Linking up with Velvet Ashes at The Grove where the prompt this week is “Prayer”
Healing Broken Feet 