You Can Talk With God

Do you pray each day? I hope you do because prayer is one of the very important things God wants every Christian to do. For example, Paul finishes the passage on the Christian's armor by writing, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."{Ephesians 6:18} and instructs the Thessalonians to "pray continually;" {1Thessalonians 5:16-18}. These instructions emphasize the fact that every Christian should be praying!

All this brings up the question again: "Do you pray each day?" Maybe you feel somewhat intimidated by the whole issue of prayer. Many Christians do. Yet every Christian should feel comfortable praying.

On one hand, prayer is so simple; it is simply talking to God. Think of it this way: it is like talking to your spouse, family members, or a best friend. If you can talk with them, you can pray with God. Remember, Jesus told us to pray to our "Heavenly Father" and Paul said we pray to our "Abba" which in English would be "Daddy or Papa."

I think of the times I have called my Dad. I called him for many different reasons: sometimes it was just to talk, other times I wanted his help or counsel with serious problems, most times it was a combination of things. I am glad that I can still call him. Praying to our Heavenly Father is a lot like calling Dad. In this sense, praying is something we all can do.

On the other hand, prayer is coming into the presence of the Almighty, Holy God! Therefore, it is something to do thoughtfully and respectfully. However, this is something we also are all able to do.

Habakkuk combines both of these aspects of prayer in a wonderful, short prayer. "LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy." {Habakkuk 3:2}

There are three special things about Habakkuk's prayer.

First, it is short, only two sentences! Our prayers do not have to be long.

Second, Habakkuk worships God in his prayer. He prays, "LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD." We often skip this to get to our list of requests. Habakkuk followed the Biblical pattern of praying by starting with focusing on God. Habakkuk comes to God with a humble heart, "I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD." Think about it, when you talk with your best friend do you spend most of the time telling them about yourself and everything you want them to do for you? Probably not, we should not do that with God either.

Third, Habakkuk shares his two requests. The first one is for a spiritual revival and a renewal of God's mighty intervention in his people's lives: he prays, "Renew them in our day, in our time make them known." Only after that request for God to be glorified does he give a request for himself and his nation: "in wrath remember mercy."

These three aspects of Habakkuk's prayer are important and they brought about the peace and strength he needed to face the desperate times he lived in. As we incorporate them into our prayers, we can experience that peace and strength too.

So remember to "Talk with God today, He wants to hear from you" (adapted from Our Daily Bread Nov. 2003)

Written by Rev. Daniel B. Baker October 2003



Articles by Rev. Daniel B. Baker :: Webmaster: Joseph I. Baker