A Call To The Remnant

Many saints I know ” pray,” as though they are not talking to God. They lecture Him, they teach Him, they use prayer to teach others, they do all these things but the one thing they are not doing is talking to God, at best they are talking to themselves. If you do not believe that you are talking to God, then you are not. Your own unbelief has become your ceiling.

Prayer is something that most of us struggle with at one time or another. There is a direct correlation between your walk with the Lord and your prayer life. There can be seasons of dryness, seasons of drought, seasons of abundance, there can be deep dark winters from which we may think we shall not emerge from, all of this is common to every saint.

There are many teachings about prayer, there are a thousand books one could buy that attempt to teach us how to pray properly, or with power, or with might and faith, and yet the truth is as simple as our relationship with Jesus. Prayer is our relationship with God. They are one and the same. If we attempt to separate them then we will get lost. There are no formulas, no secret methods, prayer is being in the presence of God.

When I was a teenager, I had to go to a school that required me to go by train. On the journey home, a guy in my class would get of at the same stop, and, as we lived in the same neighborhood, we would have about a two mile walk to get home. I used to dread that walk home.

I did not really know this guy and so we both talked incessantly about anything and everything just so we could avoid any embarrassing silences. As we got to know each other better, there was not such a need to constantly have to think of something to say, and as time went on, we could be peaceful in the silence.

For most of us, we have a concept of prayer that is all about talking. We start of by giving thanks, then we make our requests, we pray for family members and before we know it has become ritualistic and barren. Prayer should be much more like breathing, when was the last time you thought about breathing? Your probably not even conscious of your breathing, yet you do it continually and it sustains you and gives you life, bringing precious oxygen through your lungs, sustaining the very nerve center of your body, your brain.

While prayer times and quiet times are good, for many, that is our only moments when we connect with God. In the morning and in the evening before we go to bed. If we have neglected His presence all day, our prayer times will not be effective.We must “take” God every where we go, whispering to Him all through the day as we face the challenges, trials and temptations that come with life. We must be able to see God everywhere, walking in His presence everywhere we go and if we do this, if we seek Him first and His Kingdom in everything that we do all through out the day you will be amazed at the depth of relationship that will come. You will not just be talking to Him in your prayer times and quiet times, He will become an integral part of everything that you do.

Each whisper, every God-ward thought, every word spoken, each moment of silence spent in His presence is like a musical note to the Lord. The Scriptures refer to the Lord as “He who sits above the circle of the earth.” And so He who sits above the circle of the earth, sees each and every one of these musical notes from around the world from the Body of Christ, rising up in a majestic symphony of love and worship and it is a sweet, sweet sound in His ears.

This day, become part of that symphony, let your days be filled with thoughts of Him, release whispers of love to add to the music of prayer. Simply whisper the name of Jesus, all throughout the day, remind Him of how much you love Him, thank Him for the day, no matter what kind of day that your having. This is no formula, rather it is a diligent heart’s response to love. Rediscover that bond of love and joy and peace that comes simply by being in His presence. When you do this brothers and sisters, your prayer life will change dramatically, but not only your prayer life, your life itself.

For when we walk in continual prayer we begin to see the beauty of the Lord everywhere. If it rains, we see His beauty in the raindrops, if the sun shines we see His beauty as the flowers turn themselves around to face the glory of the Son. If it is cloudy we see his beauty break through the clouds in beams of light that remind us that despite the momentary darkness, He is not finished with us and that His light is ready to break through.

Pray without ceasing brothers and sisters, it is not a bondage, but a glorious privilege that enables us and empowers us to be overcomers in a dark world that is desperate for the light of love, joy, peace, truth, justice and compassion. If we continue in Him, if we abide, then we will be all of these things and more and our lives will be dynamic testimonies to the glory of the risen Lord.

As I finished writing this, I sense that many who read this are facing “cloudy days,” and the light of the Love of Jesus seems to have flown away. I pray that this day the Lord will give you eyes to see beyond the clouds and you will reestablish your connection with Him.