Pray To Be Heard

Pray to Be Heard “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners to be seen by men." Matthew 6:5 One time a young, up and coming businessman, was waiting for a meeting when he heard someone walking down the hallway. Thinking that this might be a potential client for him, he picked up his telephone and pretended to be having a high-powered conversation. Soon the footsteps stopped at his desk. He continued talking on the phone, as if he was giving an eloquent presentation to a potential client. After several minutes of this impressive speech, he said "could you hold for just a moment, I need to take another important call." Looking up he asked the man who was standing at his desk, “What may I do for you?” The man standing before him replied, “I’m from the telephone company, I’ve come to hook up your phones.” This humorous story reminds me that our prayer life is the same way. The prayer that gets God's attention comes from the heart and not from the eloquent words we speak. Prayers to impress people are one-way conversations, as God is not interested in them, and will not hear them. God knows what is on our hearts, even before we utter or think about the words we say. He knows all about us, He knew us while we were in our mother's womb, and even knows the number of hairs on our head. We don't have to impress God with our eloquent words, as He only wants to hear from us from our hearts. This is why the Bible tells us when we pray, to find a quiet place where we can be alone with God, for a special time of communion with Him. This is the time to thank God for all His blessings, and also to ask our petitions of Him. You can't impress God by what you say, as He already knows what is in your heart. Find your quiet place today and talk to God, he is waiting and wants to hear from you. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven April 24