DO NOT PRAY LIKE A POLITICIAN…THE POWER OF UNCENSORED PRAYER!

October 13, 2015

 

Politicians are notorious for telling voters what they want to hear. To win your vote, they make promises they know they won’t keep. They sing us sweet lullabies of better days ahead. They go to great lengths and hire people to write speeches that will evoke loud applauses. Election time can become one big circus.  If I am not careful, I can fall into the trap of praying like a politician.

God is not concerned about me giving speeches in prayer; telling Him what I think He wants to hear. He is not asking me to make empty promises. He is not asking me to have well thought out phrases and giving Him my resume. He is not impressed by any of this.
I had the privilege to once again hear this dynamic man of God speak this weekend.  He spoke on being a house of prayer.  He reminded me that in order to get to this point, I must be like Jesus and pray RAW HONEST prayers.  Jesus is inviting me and you to come and tell Him all, withholding nothing.

He invites me to cast all my cares on Him.  Telling Him the good, the bad and the ugly.  Allow Him to see my heart, inviting me to replace my filth with His righteousness and giving me a greater level of freedom.

He invites me to come and tell Him that I really don’t want to forgive because the offense just seemed too great and the offender never said sorry.  RAW HONEST EMOTIONS.  He invites me to cry out and ask Him to help me go beyond my feelings and ask Him for the grace to walk in forgiveness as many times as it is needed!

He invites me to be honest, take off my church face, abandon my well-crafted speeches and tell Him that I feel doubt overtaking me. When I have been in the wilderness longer than I would like and I begin to wonder if He has forgotten about what He has promised.  He wants me to have raw conversations with Him about my doubts and then sit long enough to get His faith infused answer giving me the proper perspective to continue to believe!

He invites me to be honest and tell Him that my flesh loves the applauses of man making me sometimes more focused on pleasing them instead of pleasing Him.  He wants me to be honest and tell Him that I struggle to not think too much of myself.  It is then that He begins to show me how to be like Him, how to imitate His humility.  Jesus type of humility can never be fabricated, only in prayer can pride be put to death!

I officially resign from praying like a politician.  I want to be a house of prayer, flowing in the power of God.  Teach me Lord.  How about you?

 

 

 

photo by:
Anika Jones

About the Author

Anika Jones

Anika Jones is a speaker and author of the book Lessons Learned Along The Way: A 40 Day Devotional. She blogs about faith and family at LivingForLater.com and posts weekly videos on her YouTube channels, Living For Later (@livingforlater) and Living Life Now (@livinglifenow). Anika loves speaking about developing intimacy with God and understanding who we are in Christ. She serves alongside her husband in ministry. They live in Illinois with their 6 children.