Post by tomdurst on Mar 10, 2023 12:55:08 GMT -5
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
DO NOT USE VAIN REPETITIONS
"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. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”--—Matthew 6:6-8 NKJV
Prayer should never be used as a means of display but should be practiced in quietness and not composed of repetitive words. Could anything be plainer than what these verses say about true prayer? Why do we think we need to have so many words? Are they to inform God or make Him our servant in some way? Even in a face to face conversation with another person we mostly run out of words and end up making small talk unless a new topic can be introduced that opens the way for some meaningful communication. How can we keep using words to communicate with God without having vain repetitions? If you were to spend an hour in prayer using words just what would those words be? In view of the fact that "your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" why is it that there is such fear of waiting upon God in the simplicity of silence in which we let go of words and thoughts and just open our hearts for the infilling of His love, wisdom, grace, joy, and peace? Let us be receptive to all that God has for us and not harden our hearts because we have allowed so many years of false teachings and traditions to blind us. Traditions are not intrinsically wrong but sometimes they can be hindrances to really knowing God if we get overly enamored with them.
“It is in this stillness and silence that all of the power of God takes place,and it is then that the real work of our lives is accomplished.”—Joel S Goldsmith, 1954 Infinite Way Letters, p. 61
YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER ALREADY KNOWS
“ . . .your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.”—Matthew 6:32 NLT
Many of God’s children have an anxiety as to whether they are saying the right words in their prayers in order to get the help they need. Whole books have been written about “how to get it right” when you pray. Words help us human beings to express what is on our heart but they have no power to move God to do anything more than He is already doing—blessing His children. Words often are hindrances in prayer because they impose limits on ourselves in receiving all that God has for us. We often wear ourselves out giving God information about what is going wrong and what we think He should do about it. God is the only power. If we remain in ignorance of His power we are disconnecting ourselves from it and then wonder why our lives are so powerless. We create separation from God in our thoughts by neglecting communion with Him. Then in desperation we may beg, plead, and even demand God to help us but often to no avail. When times get tough we are totally unprepared and may even say, “Why is God doing this to me?” I believe that the highest form of prayer is communion with God in Silence, waiting upon Him in total surrender. Our greatest desire in going to God in prayer is to experience His presence rather to give Him information or to tell Him to do something that we think He should do. When we wait upon God in total Silence, perhaps starting out with words, but by His grace moving beyond all thoughts and words, we shall indeed begin to experience His presence. We will find the power that we need as well as answers to the many perplexities and trials of life. Below are some simple prayers that make a good starting point for a time of devotion.
“Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”—1 Samuel 3:9 ESV "not my will, but yours be done."--Luke 22:42 NIV "Teach me your way, O Lord.”—Psalm 27:11 ESV "Here I am. Send me."—Isaiah 6:8 NLT
WHAT IS PRAYER?
“Prayer has nothing to do with getting God to do something; prayer has nothing to do with getting God’s power to destroy something; prayer has nothing to do with influencing God. God forbid that prayer should be used to tell God what to do, influence God, or to bribe Him! Prayer is a state of silence in which you commune with God and receive His grace, where every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God becomes power, and you become the receptivity through which It flows.”—Joel S Goldsmith, Beyond Words and Thoughts, p. 15
Let these simple but very powerful scriptures speak to your heart: Exodus 14:13; Psalm 37:7; 46:10; Isaiah 26:3; 30:15; 40:30-31; Zechariah 4:6; Matthew 6:5-8; Acts 17:28; Romans 8:26-27; Jude 1:20.
IS PRAYER REALLY ABOUT TALKING TO GOD?
Recently I heard a well intended teaching on prayer and it was all about talking TO God about whatever concerns and needs we may have. There wasn’t anything said about LISTENING to that still, small voice within in which we move beyond words and thoughts and partake of that mind of Christ which indwells all of us (see Luke 17:20-21; Philippians 2:5; Colossians 1:26-27). I can only say by way of personal experience that endless talking to God can be very exhausting, dry, and burdensome. Will endless talking force the hand of the Almighty to do more than He is already doing? Will it provide Him with information that He doesn’t already know? It is no wonder most Christians spend minimal time in prayer for, after all, how long can we talk without running out of something to talk about? Do we keep going over long prayer lists, recite Bible verses or written prayers over and over, or just WHAT DO WE DO so that we can feel we’ve “done your duty” by praying a certain length of time? Will long, drawn out prayers in private or public somehow earn us “brownie points” with God? Prayerfully study these verses and let the Spirit speak to you: Matthew 6:1-8, 24-34.
In summary I would say that prayer is not for giving God information or telling Him what to do but is more in the realm of experiencing His presence, listening to His Voice. The desire to do His will above everything else is indeed prayer as a way of life, not just something we do at various times.
Throughout all generations the still small voice of God has been speaking to human hearts. Are you listening?
LET CHRIST PRAY IN YOU
Inasmuch as Christ lives in us and we have His mind, at some point we must completely surrender to His mind and be willing to move beyond all thoughts, concepts, words, experiences, emotions, signs, and forms. It is our blessed privilege to enter the depths of His presence and LET Him pray in us and through us (see Isaiah 40:13; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:5). This type of prayer is truly a gift of God’s grace and not something we can manufacture through human efforts (see Zechariah 4:6).
“At times when you can’t pray, let Jesus pray in you to the Father. Let your heart be silent. This is pure contemplation. There are no words or images or efforts in pure contemplation, for it is Christ’s prayer to his Father coming to life in you on a very subtle level. This most profound kind of prayer, which may not feel like prayer, is the source of transformation in Christ. In order to allow Christ to pray in you to the the Father, pray with nothing. Pray in God.”—The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God by David Frenette, p. 85.
SOME THOUGHTS ON PRAYER
When you stop to think about this matter of prayer more carefully, how could a God who fills all space and who is above all, through all, and in all, care about the exact words we use when we pray? There are hundreds of languages and dialogues used throughout the world. Is one more pleasing to Him than another? Do we think that if we give the Almighty the right information and ask Him in just the right way to do something that this will persuade Him to do more than He is already doing in pouring out His love and healing (see Matthew 5:45)? "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”--2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV). It seems to me that what we are dealing with here on our part is INTENTION for God and RECEPTIVITY to receive what He is seeking to reveal to us (see Psalm 25:9, 14; Proverbs 28:5; Daniel 12:10; John 7:17; 8:43-44; Revelation 3:20). Based upon my own experience, and that of many others, I do believe the He supplies every human need as is best for us in His own time and His own way. My own needs have not always been met as quickly or exactly as I would have wished but they have definitely been met. It is always important for us to pray the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, "nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”—Luke 22:42 (NKJV) I wish to emphasize that I believe Matthew 6 is by far the best chapter on prayer in the entire Bible. Study it with much prayer and with an open heart.
"In Silence God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience.”--Thomas Merton
THE HEART OF PRAYER-COMMUNION WITH GOD
The heart of prayer is communion with God, listening to that still small voice, an increasing awareness of and reception of His presence and power, letting it take over. “I live yet not I, Christ lives in me.” When we are living in this sense of oneness with God, those who reach out to us for prayer support are embraced in the healing presence of divine Love, as well as the whole created order being blessed. Remember always that the Kingdom of God is here, now, outside of time and space as we know them (see Luke 17:20-21). As we experience that Kingdom evermore we are freed from the bondage of matter and the world of the five physical senses. We advance from glory to glory (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our prayers for others are not about them, their sicknesses, their problems, or their personal needs. Rather, our prayers are about God and coming into the experience of His presence. All that God is in essence, which is love, is at the very core of existence—which includes each of us and those whom we are trying to help. As we come into this God consciousness, letting it take over our lives, healing, supply, and all other human needs will be met as is best in the will of God which is always for our ultimate good. The mistake most make is to put human needs at the top of the list first and coming into the consciousness of God as All-in-All second. How foolish we are to think that all of our pleading and giving God information will somehow make things happen that we desire for ourselves or others. Frantic prayers apart from a real experience of God avail very little.
Remember that when you spend time in deep communion with God, experiencing His presence, you indeed are sending healing waves throughout the entire created order. This is not something to be taken lightly but is actually truer that you could ever imagine. Each one of us is privileged to be a part of this healing chorus so let’s do our part faithfully.
“The sense of peace that comes to you—the peace that passes understanding—is the healer. When you attain that, healing takes place. It is the awareness of God that does the healing.”—Joel S Goldsmith, The Art of Healing, p. 81
THE SECRET OF REAL LIFE AND ENERGY
Isaiah 40:29-31 New King James Version (NKJV)
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
The secret of real life and energy is to be found in these inspired words quoted above. Those who receive the strength and vigor that come only from God are those who realize that in themselves they are weak and have no strength (verse 29). When we see our weakness then we are ready to “wait on the Lord” and receive His strength. God doesn’t change and He always has been and still is the only real source of life and health (see Acts 17:28). You don’t have to go to expensive health spas or spend a lot of time and money seeking for the latest “fountain of youth” that is being marketed. THE secret is found in these simple words "those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” Do you really believe this? If so, then communion with God, waiting upon Him, learning to know Him and experiencing His love will indeed be the center of your life and every good work that you need to do will flow out of that.
“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.”― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine
COME AWAY AND REST A WHILE
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.--Mark 6:31 (ESV)
Many Christians feel that having times of Silence in which we are willing to move past thoughts and words is somehow dangerous. Our Savior bestows good and only good upon those who desire more of His presence and who want to have a deeper walk with Him (Isaiah 40:28-31; Luke 11:9-13). Our best thoughts fall short of God’s Infinite Mind (Isaiah 55:8-9). We need to have thoughts in order to function as human beings but at the same time we need set apart times to rest from our attachment to them lest they become idolatrous and even hinder our spiritual growth. As we enter the Silence we are privileged to partake of “heavenly realms” in ways that are indeed beyond any words to express or thoughts to understand (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The book of Ephesians mentions “heavenly places” or “heavenly realms” 5 times (Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). There is nothing in this world so wonderful and healing as to experience the awesome peace which the Savior longs to give each of us. This world has nothing that will equal it (John 14:27).
“Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation.” ― Thomas Keating, Invitation to Love: The Way of Christian Contemplation
For specific posts on the topic of "Practicing the Presence" visit the link below and read as much as you can:
THE SONG OF THE HEART