Prayer That Delights the Lord
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. (Luke 11:1) They would not have asked unless they had wanted to learn. I believe that most who are reading this truly desire to grow in this area as did the disciples. Many well meaning Christians pray out of a sense of obligation. They think prayer is something they are supposed to do. Others pray only when tragedy strikes or when crisis befalls them. Beloved, we will never understand the importance of prayer until we realize that prayer is not for our welfare or relief but for the delight of the Lord. We must understand that God has a desire, and it is to fellowship with us (see Matthew 6:25-34). God wants us to come into HIS presence and focus our attention on Him and not our needs.
Perhaps the burden of prayer is on you out of a sense of obligation, a duty. Few Christians enter God's presence with delight, simply for the pleasure of HIS company. King David says much about this (Ps.37:4; 43:4; 16:3).
I must confess that this is where I fail most in prayer. There have been times I have known and enjoyed ecstacy in intimacy with Jesus; he was my delight. In this time of enjoying the presence of the Lord HE wants us to receive power and authority that will carry us through all of our trials.
In order to receive this power from the Holy Spirit and experience intimate prayer that delights in the Lord we must learn several important lessons:
This kind of prayer must be in Secret (Matthew 6:6).
Sadly many Christians are good and even relish at praying in public for the ears of man(Mt.6:7-8). They will gladly pray at public prayer meetings, but reluctantly or never pray at home with their family or on their knees, in their closet as God's Word says.This kind of prayer requires Time and includes being silent and listening. (Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27)
Christians spend too much time spouting off their problems and concerns, and prayer requests and spend too little time actually praying in the presence of our Lord.Fasting is the twin brother to prayer.(Matt.17:19-21)
We are so good at planning our personal and church life around mealtime. When was the last time you heard a message about gluttony? the discipline of fasting? Many in the world fast out of necessity whereas we should fast out of obedience to the Word and empathy to the majority of our world.You must begin now!
It will not suffice to read about prayer, to hear a sermon about prayer, or to believe in prayer. I am quick to judge God's church concerning prayer, but the more important question is this: When will I become a "house of prayer"?We do what we want to do. We find time to adjust our priorities concerning sports, work, children, school, church, social activities, etc. When will you see prayer as the priority in your life? God has incredible blessings awaiting those who embrace the priority of prayer which delights in the Lord.
