“To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.” Psalm 61:1
David revealed an important ingredient that should be in more prayers — a cry. A “cry” is a desperate utterance, often accompanied by heartfelt tears.
Unfortunately, prayers are not always the sincere pleas in times of distress they should be. For many, their prayers are more like a list a child hopes Santa Claus will fulfill. Their “prayer” usually goes something like: “Gimmee this and gimme that. Oh, yea. Bless Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Frank, and keep the bullies away. Oh Lord, could you give me an ‘A’ in Arithmetic.”
Sadly, “lists” are the most popular form of talking to God. Occasionally, one will open a prayer book and recite what someone else has written and labeled to be prayed in the situation one finds oneself.
Prayer to a Christian is communicating with a Holy God. He owes us nothing, but we are indebted to Him for everything. It is an honor and privilege that we are even permitted to speak to our Creator.
We should not dishonor him with empty, thoughtless, insincere pleas. Our conversation with God can be like we have with no other person. We can tell Him everything on our hearts.
We can tell the Lord things we would dare not tell others. He is our God, and He desires conversation with His people.
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Mat. 6:7
The words are not as crucial as our sincerity. God is more interested in the condition of our hearts when we talk to Him. A sincere, real “cry” shows Him that we are in desperate need, and we realize He is the only solution to our situation. He sees our reliance and dependence on Him, which is what He desires.
Christian, have a real prayer time with God today! Talk to Him as if He is your best friend. He is!
“When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without heart.” — Bunyan
