The first prayer we have learned was the Lord’s Prayer.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come …”
As a child, I prayed the Lord’s prayer every time I wanted something, when it seemed to be impossible to get. I would close my eyes and whisper on my pillow with my hands clasped, putting forward all my requests, in the hope that God would satisfy me, if I were good enough. If my wish came true, I would be overjoyed, but there were different moments … when I thought I didn’t deserve it because I wasn’t good enough or I made my God angry. I couldn’t bear a thought that I have disappointed or betrayed Him… Ahh! And He seemed to be so far away!
For half of my life, I have believed that the God is the one who punishes us for not being good enough. In that “disgrace” I thought I had no right to ask anything from Him. So I moved away being ashamed.. In that belief, years went by. Still, I knew it wasn’t He who abandoned me.
When I surrender to Him, saying, “I give you my life Jesus!”, I realized that my Father had waited faithfully until I have returned to Him. As if children leave their parents’ home leaving them behind desperately hoping for the moment when they will call them again, visit them or tell them a nice word…
God is our Father, who is always waiting for us, the One whom we cry out when it’s hard. If you take one step closer to Him, there will be a celebration in heaven with angels, because He loves you so much.
Because You are His beloved Child.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
And the Father does not punish his children. He just forgives and with open arms waiting for them to come back and if they don’t, He would grieve.
What do you think? If he has one sheep and one of them stray, does he leave ninety-nine in the mountain, and does he not go looking for the one that stray? And if she manages to find her, really, I tell you, she will be more glad for her than for the ninety-nine who haven’t gone astray.
Matthew 18:12-13
Do we act like a child who loves his Father? Do we talk and spend time with Him? Do we even know Him? And if the answer is no, how do we change it, how would we get to know Him better?
Prayer is the answer to each of these questions.
What is a prayer?
You prayer when you talk to your Father. When you ask Him and He answers you. It’s your expression of love to your Father and to everyone you love. Advice, comfort, hope. From the One whom you trust and to whom you have given your heart. You will get manny answers! You just ask.
God speaks to us through the word in the Bible and prayer is our only way to turn to God. The words spoken aloud through prayer carry great power. The greater the faith is of the one who prays, the greater is the power of prayer. However, prayer should be far more than just talking to God or enumerating our personal desires to satisfy our needs.
Let us ask ourselves what we are like when we pray: are we desperate or do we show true trust in God through prayer?
Let’s remember what Jesus said:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mark 11: 24
Prayer needs to be said with confidence that what we seek will come to past. Prayer in which words come out without coming from our heart, will have no effect.
When we want to pray for someone or for something, let us first listen to our hearts. The heart knows what to say and how to pray to God, because the heart speaks with love and God listens with love.
And only when the heart is ready, then should prayer be said out loud. At that moment, our prayer will be backed up by the Holy Spirit, and after the prayer we may be surprised by the powerful words we have spoken.
When praying do not doubt that God will fulfill it! The doubt, that is, our unbelieving thoughts that come to our mind, is the only reason that prayer can be unsuccessful. This is a doubt in God as well. We need to resist such thoughts and strengthen our faith in God, because nothing is truly impossible for Him, even when we have only a little faith:
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Matthew 17:20
The most powerful prayers are short and simple prayers, the ones that come in moments and directly from the heart. When you feel indescribable happiness or gratitude, share that with God showing Him your love and devotion.
If the results of our prayer are not seen, we need not be discouraged immediately. This does not mean that prayer is not effective. Prayer is equally powerful because God works beyond our knowledge and senses. With prayer, our faith in God deepens, and the more we pray, the more our faith will grow. With more faith in prayer and the results of prayer, it will become more visible!