Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Yearning and Hiding

I'm absolutely stopped short by today's opening paragraph in Foster's Prayer. He spells out the problem I face daily: yearning for prayer, yet hiding from it. Like the sides of magnets - attracted and repelled. What is that about? Why do I want to pray yet often can't seem to bring myself to do it? I think "Oh, I should pray about this," yet don't actually pray. What a strange dissonance of spirit. I'm reminded of the double-minded man of James 1 - unstable and immature. Some thing, or things, prevents me from just simply praying, right then and there!

Foster then points out one of the many "somethings" that we find to be a hindrance: we think we need to be perfect, or at least better, in order to actually pray. Our motives should be purer, our hearts cleaner, our thoughts more focused. I should have more time to 'really pray' rather than just rattling off a quick one. My heart and mind should be in the right place to pray so that God will hear/receive my prayers. What actual rubbish that all is.


It is exactly what we tell people when they want to come to Christ in the first place: "just come as you are! You can't clean yourself up enough for God to accept you, that is Jesus' job." So why on earth do I think I need to ge everything just so before I pray? It's actually kind of silly. 

I think the enemy likes to keep us in that same rut of thinking "if I just _____, then God will accept me." It is a trap, and one that I continue to fall into. And it has to stop!

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