The Meaning of Prayer

"Morning after morning, He wakes me up to hear, to listen like a disciple." - Isaiah 50:4

What is prayer to you? To many people, it is talking to God. But when Jesus gives us the "Our Father," He clearly tells us not to use many words to pray because our Father in Heaven already knows what we want and need…and, this isn't the only time that Jesus tells us that God knows what we want/ need before we even ask, He tells us this throughout the gospels.

So, then, what is prayer? Why do we pray? Even when we're happy and we all have what we want, why do we still have a need for prayer? Simply, it is because we feel a deeper need to be better people, and we know that God helps get us to that point. Therefore, prayer is actually our listening to God and yearning for His influence in our lives. A couple of months ago, I was praying, and I usually have everything I ask for all mapped out, but on this night, I felt as if a voice told me, "Audrey, don't use words, I already know. Just be in my presence." My prayer was made more effective by just listening and being with God on my private time. And the prophet Isaiah had this same experience with God. God would wake him up early to listen, to see what His will was for Isaiah.

Today, as you go and find your time to talk to God, please reflect on this passage. God knows what you want, what you need, and even what you'll want and need 10 years from now, instead, let your prayer time be to listen and be surrounded by His presence.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, sometimes I only think about myself and what I want You to do for me. Other times I can't listen to You because I don't make time or I can't sit still, or I'll even let doubts and distractions get to me. But despite this, I know You want to talk to me and I want to listen. Please, take this time to open my ears and make sure I listen. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens

"The boy Samuel ministered to Yahweh under Eli's care in a time in which the word of Yahweh was rarely heard; visions were not seen. Samuel did not yet know Yahweh and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him. But Yahweh called Samuel and, as he went again to Eli saying, 'I am here for you have called me,' Eli realized that it was Yahweh calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, answer: Speak, Yahweh, your servant listens.'" - 1st Samuel 3:1,7-9

A young boy hears the call of God at a time when God's word was hardly heard and visions were not seen. Sounds a lot like today, right? Regardless of the fact that we might not have angels appearing to us, telling us the will of God for our lives, we do have a small, inner voice that tells us what we should do and what we shouldn't do. Or sometimes we get instincts about things, places, people. A lot of times these feelings are cloudy and we're not too sure about what to do. Probably like Samuel, we confused the message and go to others thinking the answer is somewhere else. Samuel knew he heard a voice calling him, but didn't know it was God. How do you know it's God if you've never heard Him speak before? Thankfully, Samuel had Eli who told him to try to listen to the voice of God, as I'm sure you have those who tell you the same. Upon his moment of confusion in regards to the call, Eli told Samuel to lie down still and just say, "Speak, God, your servant listens." And this is exactly what we should do. God puts a message in our hearts that we might not be too sure of, but if we just stay at peace and ask Him to speak, He will clarify everything for us. It might not be trumpets blasting but He will talk to you and tell you what He needs to say.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, after this busy day, help me to find Your peace. There is so much I need to hear from You and now, I want to find the time to listen. I'm not sure what my path is, but I know You guide me. See me here resting with You…speak Lord, your servant listens.

Hear The Voice

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them; they follow me and I give them eternal life. They shall never perish and no one will ever steal them from me." - John 10:27-28

We all hear voices. Besides the voices of our family and friends, the voices that might speak loudest to us are the ones telling us we're going to fail or that we're not good enough. We might hear voices telling us we're lonely and things will never work out. Voices telling us we're failures and we've messed up too badly to fix things. But a voice that most people can never single out is the voice of God. He does speak to each and every one of us even if right now you don't believe it. His is a voice so faint, yet so strong, that only when you abandon yourself to prayer and meditation you will be able to hear it. This voice drowns out all negative thoughts you have put in your mind and all those negative thoughts others have put in your mind. If you don't think He listens and doesn't try talking to you, you're wrong…you just haven't really taken the time to listen. And what He wants to tell you is that your situation or your past don't really matter to Him at all, it's that you're taking the time to listen right now. If you quieten yourself tonight, shut out the outside world and put yourself in His presence, you will hear Him tell you that you are His child. As a lamb is taken care of and led by a shepherd, so you are taken care of by the Lord. No other voice will be able to block what He's telling you because no one can take you away from Him. No harm, evil, sorrow or sin can separate you from your Lord. Listen to the voice to guide you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, when I am still and my heart is open to You, You speak to me. Do away with everything else that drowns out Your voice so You are all I focus on. I love You and want to be led by You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Led Into Exile

"And Yahweh says, 'When you call on me, I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.' For Yahweh says, 'I will gather you from among all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you and bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.'" - Jeremiah 29:12-14

Sometimes we get so lost when it comes to God. It feels as though we're abandoned by Him and its such a lonely and scary feeling. This is being in exile and sometimes the Lord sends us off into a place where we feel this abandonment so that we can become stronger in that place; we can learn to rise above our own problems and fears. But it is the Lord who sends us there, sometimes because He wants to strengthen our faith and other times because we need to be corrected and pass through trials to be cleansed and purified. Although we are in this foreign place in our lives, God always knows where we are. He makes sure we absorb what we need from there and then He gathers us back into His love. But here's the key to this - "when you search for me with all your heart." If you haven't taken the time to develop your faith to the point that you learn to stand on your own two feet, you will not be drawn back from exile because you are not searching with all your heart. If you have been cast off into exile because you have committed a grave sin before the eyes of the Lord and you do not recognize that sin and repent, you will not be drawn back from exile since you have yet to search with all of your heart. Searching with all of your heart is to put the Lord in first place. You're in exile - how much longer until you realize that you cannot make it on your own? Searching with all of your heart is to do away with the doubting, the selfishness, and the control of your will and surrendering it to God…only then are you really, truly searching. Don't lie to yourself and say that you do look for God, but in the back of your mind want an excuse to validate your own will and your own doubts. It doesn't work that way! If you are in exile, if you feel abandoned, you need to recognize that your one and only true source of life is the Lord. Look for that source and He will let Himself be found by you. He can only work the miracles and bring you the blessings when you let go of what's holding you back. He will listen to you. You will have God's ear and compassion when you just give up the control to Him. Just by seeking Him in this way, He brings you close again to where He is. Your fears, pains, worries, loneliness…this all disappears when He gathers you back from where He sent you. The reward is to be that close to your creator who seeks to bless you and guide you through all the scary parts of life and all the good as well.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I seek to surrender myself to You. Gather me back Lord, and bring me close to where I can be guided and led by You. Grant me the blessing of letting Yourself be found by me and having Your ear when I cry out to You. Let this always be the desire on my heart. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Our Personal Commandments

"Keep your own belief before God, and happy are you if you never act against your own belief." - Romans 14:22

One thing I know for sure is that God speaks to each and every one of us. We're just not used to quietening ourselves to listen to His voice. But when we're silenced, with our focus on God, there He speaks to us in our hearts and in our conscience. We know the ten commandments and the beatitudes, but as individuals, there are commandments God has put into our hearts. For example, there may be nothing wrong with music, but lately, I've been feeling bad in my soul when I listen to a rap song with a lot of curses; I feel my spirit sadden within me. This is a belief that God has put into my heart that I must listen to.

And you, examine your heart, examine your mind. Is there something that God is telling you? Is there something you feel you shouldn't be doing or should do? Just because something isn't written in the 10 Commandments doesn't mean it's not wrong for you and that God isn't calling you to stay away from it. That's why Saint Paul stresses us here to keep those beliefs God has put in our hearts. It is the voice of God within you, speaking to you. Don't ignore it. When God speaks to us, it's to help us, not to harm us, so please listen and take heed. Happy are you if you never act against those beliefs.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You speak to me in the silence and You come through so loud and clear. Thank You for giving me personal direction in my life and help me follow Your will for me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Be Vulnerable

"And He said to them, 'My soul is filled with sorrow even to death. Remain here and stay awake with me.'" - Matthew 26:38

I learned something very painful today - the importance of making myself vulnerable. As you may know, I'm taking a course in ministry and the first topic we're learning is called Redemptive Listening. Today was my second class and the teacher made us partner up randomly with someone I never met before and start to tell them something personal about myself, an experience about listening. As I'm talking to this total stranger, that familiar knot emerged in my throat and I had to swallow and try to fight back tears! I don't know about you, but I feel that in today's society, we're taught to suck it up and just deal. We talk to people on a superficial level but our true feelings, our true emotions - the reasons for our happiness, our fears, or insecurities, we keep locked up for no one to access or even know exist. What made me choke up was that I was in a situation in which that person was solely there to listen to me and how I felt - not through emails or IMs, but face to face making eye contact. I realized that I never really do this! I never really communicate with people! Most of the time if we "vent," we spill out what frustrates us and then we say, "ok! Thanks for letting me vent" and then we end there. If we're upset with someone, we give them the silent treatment or try to "get over it." If we get together with people, we laugh and crack jokes, but do we ever discuss our feelings? How many times do we actually sit with someone, someone who is there to only listen to us and not interrupt with stories of their own life, and truly and deeply express our feelings…making it about ourselves at that moment and not about anyone else? This may seem selfish, but we really do need this…we need this to heal and to be healthier emotionally. I had no idea I had some things bottled up like this to the point it made me cry. While you express these things, you become aware of things you didn't even know you felt.

In this verse, Jesus is making Himself extremely vulerable. Right before He was arrested, He went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane and He told His apostles to stay with Him because His soul was filled with sorrow even to death. What does this mean to you? Read between the lines and see that Jesus is actually saying, "please stay with me, I feel lonely, I'm afraid, don't leave me alone." If Jesus, who we are supposed to emulate made Himself vulnerable by expressing His feelings, we need to do the same. And if Jesus, who is also God, couldn't bare to keep His feelings to Himself, no matter how personal and intimate they are, neither should we.

It's so hard to do and right now I'm struggling with it, but when I opened up to that stranger today, the peace and release that came from that was amazing. It's all about the journey, not about immediate results. Sometimes we're looking for God to heal us, but it is also in letting these things out that He brings peace to our hearts. Pray about this and make Jesus your example in being vulnerable.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I try to keep what I'm feeling to myself and today You're telling me it's not good for me. Just as You did, I need to be open about my feelings and let others see my vulnerability as much as that scares me. Please be with me and help me through this. Place in my path people that can listen to me, as well as people I can listen to. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Listen If You Have Ears

"And Jesus added, '"Listen then, if you have ears.'" - Mark 4:9

Many times before or after Jesus would teach a lesson through parables, he would say "listen then, if you have ears." Of course we all have ears, but what Jesus means is not a listen where you just take in the noise, but a deeper comprehension of what you are listening to and then allow that message to take root. I'm involved in the Pastoral Formation Institute at my church which develops me for ministry in two years and the first course I'm taking is called Redemptive Listening. You would be amazed at how much selfishness there is in listening to others. Naturally, we tend to listen to others and try to relate it back to ourselves, or interrupt the person with comments. All this needs to be stripped away. The reason why Jesus was able to do so much good for people was because He knew how to listen. True listening involves putting yourself, your life, your own interpretation of what someone is telling you to the side, and instead looking at them in the eyes, taking in all they're saying, taking account of their body language, their gestures, their facial expressions, and putting yourself in their shoes with genuine compassion. Only then will you ever be able to understand and help someone else.

I know we all have our own problems and need to vent instead of taking in someone else's issues, but it really is in giving that we receive. We are Jesus' hands and feet…and also ears and shoulders to cry on for others. If we take care of His people, He will make sure someone else takes care of us!

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to open my ears and hearts to others. I want to serve Your sheep with the same compassion You have for them. Open my ears Lord and show me who You need me to listen to today and the next. In Your Name we pray, Amen.