Improving Your Prayer Life Could Be the Answer You Have Been Waiting On #WhatYouWorshipMatters
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
— Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)
How do you pray?
As we continue in the book of Matthew, in Matthew 6 we see Jesus teach us how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
— Matthew 6:8-13 (NKJV)
We will meet so many people in this life who will tell us how to pray. They will tell us which ways are the right ways, which ways are the wrong ways, and then tell us what we should do, how we should do it, and where.
These people are always the loudest, too, aren’t they? 😭
There are a number of places in the Bible that emphasize the ways in which we should craft our prayers.
It’s easy for prayers to become a substance of habit that we include habitually in our routine. Or even an area in our lives that we play safe because we’re afraid to say the wrong words, or embarrass ourselves in front of God by expressing our deepest wants and desires. (let alone, embarrass ourselves publicly! lol)
The Bible explains and expands upon the types of prayers that were commonly noted, and how we should approach our prayers:
Our Prayers Must be HOT (Rev. 3:15-16)
We Must Come BOLDLY to the Throne (Hebrews 4:4-16)
Even Jesus prayed (Luke 22:42)
Yesterday while on the phone during a devotional reading with my friend, she expressed to me that her Christian journey was amplified when — she had to MEET God for herself. And have her own encounter.
Let Prayer be YOUR OWN encounter with God.
Play dangerously, pray quietly, pray songfully, pray literately, just PRAY.
Set yourself on fire with the night of your prayers because it’s not simply the act of choosing to pray, but — intention, content, and weight.
Next time you pray, give it everything you have, release your inhibitions, and take a stab at it coming BOLDLY to the throne… in whichever way you choose.
“And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’”
— Matthew 4:9 (nkjv)
Worship is not just singing songs. It’s the act of putting God first. It is quite literally, as seen in the dictionary, the act of putting something first.
What we worship has profound effects on how we LIVE and how we TREAT people. This means we can worship anything including inanimate objects and secular offerings. Many of us fall victim to that! Believe it or not, “worship” is actually a spiritual discipline. It is not always easy, however, it is always worth it.
W O R S H I P:
Proves Our Priorities - It is an action that demonstrates that God is actually at the TOP of our list.
Unifies Us with God and others - Worship doesn’t just help our MOST INTIMATE relationship…. It emperors us to love all people better.
When we put God first via worship, at its purest form, we:
See ourselves and others the way God sees us
When we now adopt God’s Lens, we Love the way He does (The greatest commandments - Matthew 22:36-40)
Think about it this way:
Fasting is our act of MAKING ROOM FOR MORE GOD [getting rid of all the toxins]
Worship is now filling that newly renovated space with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [we’re putting all the goodness back in- our NUTRIENTS]
If you want to see God do immeasurably more in your life first you have to:
GET RID OF THE BAD STUFF
MAKE ROOM
PUT HIM FIRST
W O R S H I P
Challenge yourself to do one activity EACH day to help YOU put God FIRST.
Hopefully it can feel less like a chore, with each day, until it becomes genuinely something you delight in, and eventually second nature!