A Christian Prays! Do You?

A Christian prays — and prays — and prays. But many church members scarcely know
the meaning of the word once they leave the church building and the stilted “audience
conscious” phrases that pass for prayer there. “Pray without ceasing;” (1TH.5:17)
makes no apparent impression.

It is a tragedy that God is considered so inaccessible. To many He is far away, locked
in an inner office; with an alert guard of clergymen, forms and format to protect Him from
the “ordinary” caller. The idea is wholly foreign to the truth.

“Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in
secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (MAT.6:6). Thus
Jesus describes the close intimate relation that exists between the petitioner and his
Creator. This does not negate public prayer (the contrast is with hypocritical showoffs);
in fact this touches the vitals of all acceptable prayer. When intimate communion with
God is missing, public prayer becomes a farce.

Prayer is a Christian’s privilege; made real and earnest — meaningful — because a
Christian (and only a Christian) truly appreciates such characteristics of God as the
following.

God is near! He is “not far from every one of us; for in Him we live, and move, and have
our being” (ACT.17:27-28). A Christian lives close to God. His Maker is ever-present,
all-about; ready to be contacted upon a moment’s notice. This nearness comforts the
Christian — “in the valley of the shadow.. thou art with me” God cares! The Christian
casts all his cares upon God, “for He careth for you” (1PE.5:7). Our Father is concerned
— His interest is genuine. He who takes note of the sparrow’s fall, watches over all His
children.

God hears! His eyes “are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers”
(1PE.3:12). “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have
to do” (HEB.4:13b). And hearing, he understands our frailties — “the feeling of our
infirmities” (HEB.4:15-16) so we may come boldly to the throne of grace for mercy.
And God gives! “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you” (MAT.7:7-f). Ask! Seek! Knock! These are imperatives, in the
Greek present tense. They say, “Ask” and keep on asking; “seek” and continue to seek;
“knock” again and again. The thought is akin to MAT.6:33 — “seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”
A Christian believes that God is near, that God cares, that God hears, and that God
give. He is conscious of his dependence upon God, and leans upon Him without
hesitation. So he prays; when he awakes — as he goes to work — when he partakes of
God’s rich blessings — when he feels the weight of sorrow and cares — as he lays him
down to sleep. A Christian prays; and what about you??
– Robert F Turner