Prayer

“My soul, wait in silence for God only.

For my hope is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.”

Ps. 62:5,6

Prayer is to the soul what breathing is to the lungs. As breathing is the means by which necessary and life-giving oxygen enters into the lungs, so prayer is the means by which God’s necessary and faith-giving grace enters our souls. The only difference in practice between breathing and prayer is that one comes naturally to us, the other does not. But for the person who has been born-again through faith in Jesus Christ, the practice of prayer should become increasingly normal. Let King David teach us this lesson.

Prayer is the expression of a soul longing after God (Ps. 42:1). It is the cry of one in distress (Ps. 18:6), the scream of one in trouble (Ps 61:1,2), the confession of one paralyzed by guilt (Ps. 51), the request of one needing guidance (Ps. 25:4,5), the tears of one saturated with grief (Ps. 6:6,7), the comfort of one who is anxious (Ps. 94:19),  the courage of one gripped by fear (Ps. 34:4), the hope of one in despair (Ps. 42:6), the confidence of one who is desperate (Ps. 40:1-3), the strength of one who is weak (Ps. 86:16), the joy of one who is trusting Him alone (Ps. 33:21), the song of one who is secure (Ps. 108:1).

Sadly, too many professing Christians are dull and disinterested when it comes to prayer. Why? Because they have for too long been breathing the polluted air of their own pride and self-sufficiency. Rather than thriving with the fresh air of God’s cleansing and empowering grace – supplied by Jesus Christ and appropriated through prayer. They are content to choke along with a strangled soul. Those in this condition have no power to resist temptation when it comes and they then sink deeper into spiritual slumber and despair. It need not and should not be this way.

The practice of prayer is in reality the practice of humility. Said another way, prayer is the practice of trusting only in God and His Word. The core of all sin is unbelief in the sufficiently of God, trusting in something of our own choosing other than Him. We don’t pray because we don’t trust Him alone to be our refuge. And from this we need to repent.

A drowning person instinctively longs for one necessity: air. Likewise, a humble and broken person is instinctively desperate for one reality: God. To those so inclined, He is eager to show Himself strong.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”

                                                           Ps. 62:7,8

Learning to trust Him with you,

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