Don’t Pray Like Me (or) How Not To Pray

Christians certainly pray for friends and relatives. There are certain souls that I pray for every morning and every night. This article, “Don’t Pray Like Me” came about only after deciding to give some honest and deep thought as to the real reasons I pray. Then there’s this: I learn how to do everything by first doing it wrong and I have been very consistant with this practice throughout my entire life. During my “soul searching” (no pun intended) came the realization that I am sometimes selfish in my prayers. Even in prayers for loved ones, I discovered that in some cases, I was actually praying in order that a particular friend or relative would be in Heaven “with me.”

I give testimony to loved ones and then pray each day so they may come to know Jesus and have eternal life. Right or wrong, I then feel a certain responsibility for them and I want to succeed by seeing them saved. I self-impose pressure on myself because I know that time is of the essence and as that time goes on it becomes more about me. It’s as if there is a contest going on that I want to win. The reason for my prayer becomes about me and is another example of: “how not to pray”.

 It would be dishonest for me to say all my prayers are answered. God will not answer If I ask for the wrong things and He will not answer if I am praying for someone just because it makes ME feel good. James 4:3 Says: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. In my examples, the lust would be the desire to gratify my own agenda.

Has anyone else done this? Or am I the only foolish one? I have found myself trying to sneak things into my prayers. Here’s an example: When I began long distance walking, my prayers were for strength and to improve my health and God granted both. After gaining strength, I began training to compete in a 5K. My prayes were for health, but I secretly wanted to win. What I received was gout in my knee and stone bruise on my toe. This time God showed me “how not to pray” and I will not soon forget that lesson.

1 John 5:14 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

God knows what’s in our hearts. To think I could fool God in any way makes me the fool. God is not our own personal Genie. God is Almighty and He exisits in all time. He may not answer prayers the way we expect or when we expect. When I tried to sneak in my secret motive to win a 5K race, God answered in His own way.

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (Jas. 5:16)

The Holy Spirit is my guidance and corrects me all the time even as I write this article (76 revisions and counting) but in the middle of a prayer sometimes I get it wrong. I wrote about these things in order to call attention to my mistakes, how prayers can run amiss, and so others, “Don’t Pray Like Me”.

https://thedailysinner.blog////jesus-wins/

“Christian Publishing House” has a wealth of information!

http://christianpublishinghouse.wordpress.com/