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Many churches and individuals begin each new year with a prayer emphasis. Our church dedicates the first full week of the new year as a week of prayer. It is not that we don't pray throughout the year, but it is a time of focused prayer designed to set the spiritual tone for the rest of the year. It is a spiritual reset of sorts.
Evangelist and prayer leader Dick Eastman wrote: "Prayer is the highest order of business, for it links a powerless human to the creative force of God's sovereign power." Early in their travels with Jesus, the disciples must have witnessed something of God's sovereign power through prayer. In Luke 11:1(NLT) we read, "Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'" There was something about Jesus' prayer that caused His disciples to say, "We want to pray like that." What was that something?
Too often we reduce prayer to a list of wants and needs. While it is okay to pray for those things, that is not the true essence of prayer. Prayer is much more than a laundry list of requests to be presented to God.
Prayer is about His presence, not His presents. It is about who He is more than about what He gives. Oswald Chambers wrote, "In prayer have no other motive than to know your Father in heaven." When we know our Father in heaven, when we know the heart of God, we can pray with confidence.
I John 5:14 (NLT) reads, "And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him." How do we know what pleases Him? We know by spending time in His presence, time in prayer (both talking and listening), time in His Word (Bible reading and study), and time in worship (declaring His worth in our daily lives).
When we know the heart of God, we can rejoice in His presence, regardless of how He answers our prayers. We know that He knows what is best for us. He sees far more than we could ever see. He knows far more than we could ever know. He offers us to come into His presence when we pray. One of the benefits of being in His presence is the fullness of joy.
Psalm 16:11(AMP): "In Your presence is fullness of joy." It doesn't say, "In Your answers to my prayers is fullness of joy." It says, "In Your presence..." There is a much deeper and more intimate level of prayer than merely receiving answers from God. It is giving ourselves to Him and enjoying His presence. It is loving His presence more than loving His presents.
This year, take your prayer life to a whole new level. Seek His presence more than you seek His presents. Get to know this God who loves you. You will be glad you did.
Rev. James R. Pentz, assistant pastor, New Covenant Assembly of God, 1270 Pinchtown Road, Montgomery