Stop Praying

That’s the name of the first chapter of the book I’m reading by Francis Chan. On the first page, he challenged me to stop praying for a moment.

Before you decide to argue with me, I should clarify. The book says “to take a long, hard good look at Him before you speak another word…”. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I definitely talk at God too much. Reading the bible and really discovering who God is made me hold my tongue in His presence. Man, what a powerful, holy, loving, eternal,all-knowing God we have the privilege to worship and call Father. Seriously, this is important. Before rushing into prayer with words, sit in awe of Him. Make your time with God really about God for once, not about your issues. Jeremiah 2:19 says: “‘Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,’ declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.” That woke me up.

Not to say that you shouldn’t tell God what’s on your heart; your struggles, fears, doubts and stories. That’s all good too. I’m talking about really making an effort to realize who God is before we ask Him for anything. If we know who He is, we understand that if we ask Him for something He will do what’s best for us and give us the desires of our hearts as we seek His face. When we describe our problems as if they’re too big for God, we’re not believing that He is all-powerful. Psalm 145:3 says: “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” Your Heavenly Father knows everything about you, take some time to get to know Him.

My challenge to you: Learn as much about Him and then pray.

The bible is a wonderful place to start. I’m reading Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love, and it’s really helping me grow. Here’s the link for his video about God’s greatness, and here’s a link to Louie Giglio’s take on the matter. I found that the more I read about our awesome God, the more I’m in awe of Him. Hebrews 12:28 says: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” In your prayer, your worship, your day to day lives this summer, get to know Him

allieinawe

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~ by allieinawe on August 1, 2010.