Hannah&Samuel.
NEW START.
I love Hannah. She's pretty much the most awesome lady person in the bible.
I really liked last Sunday's service about prayer, and it offered a lot of new insight about an often under analyzed subject-matter. We often focus on the same things that we forget to look for the new and most pertinent aspects of prayer.
The first being that prayer should be emotional. We don't need to hide how we feel from God... He knows already. Anything that crosses our mind, our heart, or our tongue is already known by our Omnipresent Lord. Hannah prayed until her lips could utter no words because of the sorrow and anger she felt. She wasn't afraid to pray with every fiber in her being. She was so emotional that even the high priest thought she was drunk.
On a personal note, this is really relevant. I get so scared sometimes when I curse at God and get mad at Him... When I think I'm not being treated in my best interest or even being damned. People tell me all the time that Psalms really helps, but David, from his lineage was like BFF status with God... I still get worried that when I pray out of anger that my blasphemy will damn me.
The second interesting aspect of prayer that I often forgo is the reasoning behind WHY we pray. We often times ask for selfish things and expect to get what we want. There are countless verses commanding us to pray with confidence, security, and faith that what we ask for will be provided... but not if they aren't for the glory of God. Hannah asked for a child so that he would grow up to be a servant of God, not a son to comfort the mother. Given, Samuel did often pacify the wound in Hannah's heart by being infertile for so long, but that just highlights the point. The reason why we may ask for what we do will change, but not what.
I am wary, however. We can twist our words in our prayers around enough like, God, give me that pool so I can become healthy with all the Vitamin D I will get and be better able to serve You.
Just further underlining a recurring theme I've discovered. Plans are of men, but the Lord is of the heart. You can't trick Him, it needs to be genuine and absolute.
G'night!
I love Hannah. She's pretty much the most awesome lady person in the bible.
I really liked last Sunday's service about prayer, and it offered a lot of new insight about an often under analyzed subject-matter. We often focus on the same things that we forget to look for the new and most pertinent aspects of prayer.
The first being that prayer should be emotional. We don't need to hide how we feel from God... He knows already. Anything that crosses our mind, our heart, or our tongue is already known by our Omnipresent Lord. Hannah prayed until her lips could utter no words because of the sorrow and anger she felt. She wasn't afraid to pray with every fiber in her being. She was so emotional that even the high priest thought she was drunk.
On a personal note, this is really relevant. I get so scared sometimes when I curse at God and get mad at Him... When I think I'm not being treated in my best interest or even being damned. People tell me all the time that Psalms really helps, but David, from his lineage was like BFF status with God... I still get worried that when I pray out of anger that my blasphemy will damn me.
The second interesting aspect of prayer that I often forgo is the reasoning behind WHY we pray. We often times ask for selfish things and expect to get what we want. There are countless verses commanding us to pray with confidence, security, and faith that what we ask for will be provided... but not if they aren't for the glory of God. Hannah asked for a child so that he would grow up to be a servant of God, not a son to comfort the mother. Given, Samuel did often pacify the wound in Hannah's heart by being infertile for so long, but that just highlights the point. The reason why we may ask for what we do will change, but not what.
I am wary, however. We can twist our words in our prayers around enough like, God, give me that pool so I can become healthy with all the Vitamin D I will get and be better able to serve You.
Just further underlining a recurring theme I've discovered. Plans are of men, but the Lord is of the heart. You can't trick Him, it needs to be genuine and absolute.
G'night!
posted by Andy Cho at
9:30 PM
2 Comments:
God, give me that pool so I can become healthy with all the Vitamin D I will get and be better able to serve You.
haha
I think being emotional in prayer shouldn't trump the fact that God is a sovereign and holy King. Yes, we need to be open and honest in our prayers but we should rememeber also who we are talking to. Good point about being open with God though.
I think a big thing we have to remember about prayer, is that we don't use prayer to change God. God uses prayer to change us. As we pray accordign to His will, God responds by changing our priorities and actions to conform them to His will.
keep praying :)
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