P.R.A.Y.E.R - Reveals

Our prayer lives both reveal things to us and about us. It has been said that “our prayer lives are a test of our spiritual maturity.” That might be somewhat intimidating for us to hear because we all struggle with our prayer life at different times and in different ways. However, I don’t want this blog to be discouraging but rather help us understand what our prayer lives reveal to us.

1. Prayer reveals our view of God - what we believe about who God is.

Do we see God as Santa Claus who is there to give us want we want or maybe the Maytag repairman who sits by the phone ready to help us if we call on him with a problem to solve?

God is the ultimate giver who has given us the ultimate gift and he is also there for us with his wisdom to prevent and solve problems for us - but He is so much more than that as our Savior and Lord. Spending quality time in prayer helps us understand who God is just like spending time with others helps us understand who they are.

2. Prayer reveals to us the heart and mind of God.

The clearer our understanding of who God really is, the better our prayer life will be.

“What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer

3. Prayer reveals our priorities in life.

We are all guilty of simply wanting to control our environment with our prayer life. Sometimes our prayers are nothing more than the American Dream (health, wealth and happiness) with a little Jesus mixed in. There isn’t anything wrong with praying for those things but is that the full extent of what we pray for?

Do we love what God loves? Do we know what He loves? Do we know what He would want us to pray for? These are great questions to think about.

4. Prayer reveals how we see ourselves in relationship to God.

Prayer leads to self-knowledge that cannot be achieved in any other way. In prayer, we are exposed to God’s holiness and, as a result, we are better able to see ourselves as we truly are - sinners in need of a savior. This keeps us humble and dependent on Him.

God is the only being from which we can hide nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

He knows us completely. Does that scare us or excite us? Probably a little of both if you are like me. Prayer gives us the opportunity to know Him better but, as the scripture above says, we won’t have a complete knowledge of Him in this life. I’m sure that it will be worth the wait.

Stay hungry,

Big E