Have you ever thought about what an incredible privilege and blessing prayer is? Prayer consists of so many wonderful aspects. When we pray we should at least incorporate the following four elements in our time with God.
Adoration is when we spend time praising and worshipping God for who He is. Confession is simply asking God to cleanse us from our sins. Thanksgiving is telling God how much we appreciate His love and grace. And supplication is bringing our specific prayer requests to Jesus. But what I appreciate most about prayer is that all four of the above elements involve simply talking to Jesus.
Imagine for a moment that you had a meeting with the President of the United States. I dare say that you probably would count this as perhaps the most important conversation of your life. And this meeting would probably be a once in a lifetime event. And not only that but you would be one of the few people in America to ever get such a privilege.
But wait a minute – have you ever realized what prayer is? It’s talking to the sovereign Creator of the universe, someone far more powerful than the President of the United States – the Lord Jesus Christ. And unlike this once in a lifetime conversation, you might get to talk to the US President, God gives us the opportunity to talk with Him any time we so desire. And not only that but all of God’s children have 24-7 access to Jesus, unlike the select few who have access to the US President.
My question then to all of us is why then do so many Christians make so little use of this incredible privilege and blessing of talking to Jesus. I think that we here in America are so busy with our own lives and problems that we forget that our primary responsibility is not our comfort and happiness, which we strive so hard to achieve, but in how can we glorify God, advance His kingdom, and just enjoy Jesus.
When it comes to comfort I think Pastor John MacArthur understood what real comfort is when he said: “It is truly comforting to be able to talk to the One who has experienced it all and emerged successful every time.”1 And happiness – well let’s just say we were not created to experience continuous happiness since everyone will go through a host of trials and suffering in life – which will never make us happy. Instead, we were created to experience continuous joy, which all Christians can, as we learn the great secret that joy depends on obedience to Jesus and having a healthy continuous dialogue with Him.
When we read that as Christians we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) I think we can safely say we need to spend much more time in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication to the one who created us – Jesus. Talking with Jesus throughout the day will fill you with abundant joy, provide you with the needed answers on how to deal with stress, and give you the wisdom on how to handle the most difficult question of life.
And remember Jesus is never too busy to talk with you and no appointment is ever needed. And oh yes, don’t forget to read, on a daily basis, the book that is all about Jesus – the Holy Bible – you’ll be so glad you did!
1 The Power of Suffering Quotes by John F. MacArthur Jr. (goodreads.com)