God delights in hearing the prayers of His saints. When we pray, we come as a child before a father, confident of His loving attention and response: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt 7: 7-8).
Just as a parent will not give a child that which will be hurtful to him, the Lord gives good things to His children. God will not give a stone instead of bread, nor a serpent instead of a fish (Matt 7: 9-11). God is kinder than the most tender-hearted parent. He is always willing to bless us when we pray in faith and submit our will to His.
Prayer is the Christian’s great privilege and blessing. But this does not mean that we can take it lightly or haphazardly. How should we approach God in prayer? What attitudes should we cultivate as we draw nigh to God?
o Thankfulness
Thanksgiving is an important part of prayer. We can always find something to thank God for. As we pray, recount God’s many blessings. He has blessed us with families and friends. He has met all our needs. He has guided us and kept our paths in safety. As we draw nigh to God, let us “watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col 4: 2).
The apostle Paul exhorts us to pray with thanksgiving even as we bring our cares and concerns before God: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philp 4: 6-7).
“When afflicted, we are to be thankful for the expected benefit of afflictions; when tempted, to be thankful that God will not leave us to be tempted above what we are able; when we fall into sin, there is cause for thankfulness that we are not left to run into all sin, that we were not cut off in the very act of sin, and did not die in our sins: thus are we in everything to give thanks” (William Burkitt’s Expository Notes).
o Humility
When we approach God, we must see ourselves as great debtors to Him. As sinners who had been alienated from God, we deserved His eternal condemnation and wrath. We had no right to enter into His holy presence. But we thank God for salvation through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who had reconciled us to God: “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2: 12-13). Now by that glorious Name, we have access to God our Father.
As we draw nigh to God, let us be conscious of our status as sinners saved by grace. A right view of our depravity and helpless condition will help us to humble ourselves before God.
o Forgiveness
An unforgiving spirit hinders our prayers and fellowship with God. If we come to God asking for forgiveness but are not willing to forgive another, we are saying: “Lord, forgive me of my sin, but overlook the bitterness in my heart against this brother that I hate.” God will not hear such insincere and hypocritical prayers (Ps 66: 18).
To help us forgive others, remember how God has forgiven us our many sins: “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mk 11: 25-26). We have sinned grievously yet the Lord has dealt mercifully with us (Ps 103: 3, 10, 12-13). Let us therefore be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph 4: 32). (… to be continued)
– Pastor