When You Pray… Email? Text? Emoji? Face to Face?

Matthew 6:5-8 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.  So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The other day as I was using my mobile phone, the Holy Spirit called me (actually He was calling me OUT for my growing addiction) and asked me to text Him my “groanings” – Romans 8:26 the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

He got my attention! How do I pray?

If I were honest with myself (“which I always try to be” says the “Boy in the Striped Pajamas”) I am very shallow in my prayer time. Though I may not be using my phone to contact Abba, I tend to use the spiritual lines of communication in much the same way.

Emails are for those times when I don’t necessarily need an immediate answer, because we all know that this form of communication sometimes is known as “snail mail”. Do you believe there are SOME people who have a thousand or more pieces of mail in their inbox? Not that God is likely to be this way, but just in case there are too many prayers in the que, I write these prayers in my journal for future use.

Text messages are my norm. Quick, to the point, with an emoji to highlight the mood I am currently experiencing. I don’t use the one letter method because I am slightly afraid the answer will come back the same way and I won’t be able to translate.

Yep, text messages throughout the day is my normal way to communicate with God. Of course then this requires me to continually check my messages to see if I have received the answer – the answer I am expecting.

As the Holy Spirit spoke about communing with God, I realized, I need massive training in prayer!

Starting with…

When you pray, Go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 

Sounds like FaceTime, but as the Holy Spirit reminded me, there is no distance here. It is FACE TO FACE time! It is eye to eye time! It is heart to heart time! What is the reward? Certainly it is the answer to your prayers but it more than that, it is the answer to God’s prayer. Intimate, “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23) time. Making memories time, like those moments when my babies would crawl up on my lap and try to get all the way inside me. 

I know, I know, some of us pray for AN ANSWER (or what is the use of praying?) and I am sometimes the loudest beggar in this playpen of life. However, I am reminded of all those times in childhood when I missed and/or ruined a potentially wonderful time with my parents by demanding my own way. When all was said and done, the THING I was sure would make my life PERFECT IN EVERY WAY, became nothing but a cold, gray, useless thing, that now needed space in the backpack I carried, known as “My Life, My Way”.

But God… being our perfect Abba, knows that finding Him IS LIFE and He wants to be found!

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’

 

When we pray is when we search for ABBA with all our heart!

So, now that we found ABBA (right there… in our inner room… NOT necessarily a closet), HOW do we pray? Definitely not for the purpose of impressing others – they love to stand and pray– nor going on and on and on – they suppose that they will be heard for their many words – just secret words out of a heart in need. A heart in need of the greatest thing we all seem to lack on this earth… the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In this world there are so many things to pray for, for ourselves and others. There are so many things that cause nothing but anxiety, it causes me to be anxious in determining WHAT to ask for first!

So many things… I’m thinking there is only one that I have found answers every one of my prayers. Not to be repetitious but I am planning to pray this over and over, for me and for you..

Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray that the eyes of my/your heart may be enlightened, so that I/you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (in other words – the answer to this prayer will always be “Yes and Yes”)

I know you know the Holy Spirit didn’t really ask me to text my groanings (they are too deep for me to know them anyway), but, He did train me up in the way I should go on praying! I also know it’s only the beginning (I’m just a baby!) but I’m ok with that as long as He remains my Trainer! If I don’t know the right words or prayers to speak… the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

The one thing I always try to remember when I find myself less than the good (perfect) girl I want to be, and, when I’m am being honest with myself, I try to remember God’s eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in His book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:16) God saw me and you, chose me and you, made me and you, LOVES me and you, with all of His heart!

God so wants to bless us, He directed Moses to direct Aaron (“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them’) to pray for this very thing…

Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord  lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

God ordered this, “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27)

And since I and you are coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, I and you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

Since I want to practice the training I am receiving from the Holy Spirit…

I invoke Abba’s name upon you (without emoji) with His blessing… The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.