Is Your View of God Hindering Your Prayer Life?
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Your View of God Hidering Your Prayer Life?
I hear it way to often. Excuse after
excuse as to why people don't pray more. I even use them myself from
time to time..."Not enough time"..."I don't know what
to pray"..."I don't see answers to my prayers"... "The
things I pray for aren't important enough"...You can add your
own excuses here as well. Are these the real reasons that we don't
pray the way we should or as often as we should? Or is there something
deeper that we need to examine?
If you truly want to have an effective prayer life you need to
look at the way in which you view God. I truly believe that the
way in which we think about God, and our perception of Him, affects
the way in which we pray to Him. If we believe that He is the God
of mercy and grace…if He is the God who sent His only son to
take our sins, our prayers should reflect that. If we believe that
God doesn't hear our prayers or answer them, then, of course, we
will make excuses not to pray. So we see that having an effective
and powerful prayer life has to start with our view of God.
Probably the greatest misconception of God and the greatest reason
our prayer life may be so ineffective is that we believe we only
need to come to Him in prayer when we want to ask Him for something.
We basically reduce God to someone like Santa Claus. All He is there
for is to fulfill our list of requests. This is not to say that
we can't go before Him with our requests and petitions but too often
this is the only time we spend with God in prayer. Then, also, when
we don't get what we want, we get angry or frustrated and say to
ourselves, "What's the point in praying if God isn't going
to answer my prayers?"
There is so much to God that we miss out on when we pray like this.
If you truly want to know who God is then you have to get to know
Him not by asking for things but learning about who He is. This
is the God who took nothing and created the whole universe. This
is the same God who took the time to make each and every one of
us special and unique.
We need to be able to see the majesty of God as the creator of
the universe and of everything in it. When we begin to see the awesomeness
of God, we begin to put into perspective our life in relation to
that awesomeness. We are no longer alone and hopeless but instead,
we are free and joyful because of who He is.
I guarantee you that if you pray with your whole heart and try
to see God for who he is instead of what He can give you; He will
change your heart. You will begin to see God in a whole new way.
You will see God not as a wish granter but, instead, a joy giver.
Then you will see your prayer life soar. Not because of your prayers
but because of the one you are praying to.
Want to learn more about
changing your view of God? We recommend "Desiring God"
by John Piper. John's view of God has not only changed his life
but countless others as well.
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Desiring God, Revised & Expanded
By John Piper / Multnomah
Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Now revised and expanded, Desiring God reveals how delighting in God can motivate us to glorify Him through worship, stewardship, loving our neighbor, rejoicing in suffering, and other "duties." John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn't truly exist: Delight is our duty. Discover how to lay a biblical foundation for a life of celebration by truly desiring the Lord.
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