Quote for Blog - 061416Before Jesus taught us how to pray He taught us how not to pray! Despite these warnings, it seems that much of our prayer life involves doing the very things He said not to do.

First, Jesus said not to pray to be seen by others. This doesn’t mean we can’t pray together, it simply means we must reconcile many of our motives before entering into prayer. He then said to get alone for prayer. This is the whole idea of sanctification or setting ourselves apart physically and emotionally unto God.

Then He warned against vain repetitions. Those who think prayer is about trying to get God to take action on their behalf ask for and say the same things over and over, day after day, which indicates they don’t believe they’re heard. This type of repetitive prayer is boring, mindless, heartless and meaningless.

He went on to advise, “don’t think that you are heard for your many words.” We think God hears us because of how long we pray. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to abide in His presence, the idea that the amount of time in prayer will move God is completely unscriptural.

Finally, Jesus cautioned against the approach that seems to imply God doesn’t know and hasn’t already provided for your needs. Much of our prayer is asking God to do what He’s already done through Jesus or reminding Him of what He should be doing. If I approach God from the New Covenant perspective that says God knows my needs, He has met those needs in Jesus and I don’t have to convince Him, everything about our prayer life changes.

Join me this week in Impact CyberChurch and I’ll share an incredible message, Knowing God as Father, that will help you move from the place of boring, repetitive begging to intimate, life-giving interaction!