A Few Thoughts on Prayer

​Philippians 4

We are walking in today:  A Few Thoughts on Prayer

Witness prayer throughout the Bible:   H8605 tĕphillah--prayer, pray a prayer, house of prayer, intercession, supplication

2 Samuel 7:27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer H8605 unto thee.

The Torah .........……

--
The prophets ..................
Nehemiah 1:6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer H8605 of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy
servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

The writings ............
1 Kings 8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer H8605 of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, H8605 which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:


Attuning your heart before the Most High....
Prayer is essentially a response to the Most High's call for us, a kind of teshuvah, or turning a shuv to the Most High. It is His love for us, that is the question and our turning of the heart toward Him is the answer. I t is not about finding the right words. When you pray, rather letting your heart be without words than thy words be without heart. Inwardly bow in awe before the throne of grace. Keep praying until you are able to let go and trust in the Most High's heart.

The Most High wants your heart, and prayer is the means by which your heart is offered to Him. Set you affections upward, lift up your soul, and inwardly bow in awe before the Presence of the King who sits upon the Throne of Grace. Pour out your concerns before Him, since He cares for you. Our prayers are answered when we are able to let go and trust the Most High's heart for us. Philippians 4:6-7

Since prayer is the expression of the heart, it is vital to understand that it means far more than reciting certain 'religious' words in formulaic petition. The Most High is not interested in empty prayers any more than He desires heartless sacrifice (Isaiah 29:13, Hosea 6:6, Matthew 15:9). King David said in Psalm 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. Some of our prayers are conscious words spoken to the Most High, whereas others are unconscious expressions of inner heart attitudes. Be careful how you think!! It is sobering to realize that our thoughts are essentially prayers being offered up before the Most High. When we will the good of others we find the Most High's favor, healing and life. Yeshua spoke of 'good and evil treasures of the heart' that produce actions that are expressed in our words.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. A midrash states that if someone speaks well of another, the angels above will then speak well of him before the Holy One.

Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). The Holy One, the Most High of Israel I bade you to pray in the assembly of your city, but it you cannot pray there, pray in your field, but if you can not pray there, pray on your bed, but if you cannot pray there, 'be still and know that I AM the Most High'. Therefore pray often and sometimes use words.

Henri Nouwen wrote, I am beginning to see that much praying is grieving, since the confession of the truth when we come to ourselves (Luke 15:17) is often painful. When we pray to the Most High, however it is obvious that we are not imparting to Him any information since the Master of the Universe knows all things. As King David wrote, in Psalm 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Yeshua taught us to abstain from using 'vain repetitions' in our prayers, since our Heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:7-8). Some people think that the Most High is impressed with a large crowd of people who are praying for the same thing, as if this were not another form of 'vain repetition'. The same can be said of being part of a large prayer list. No, there is no need for the crowd to offer prayer, since the Most High regards the individual heart of faith as sufficient to move a mountain and cast it into the sea (Matthew 21:12). One heartfelt prayer that makes real contact with the Most High is better than thousands of people praying for someone or some situation of which they know next to nothing on a prayer chain.

True prayer, then is a means of reverent listening, or quieting ourselves, so that we might hear what the Sprit of the Most High is saying. When you pray, with all of your heart, your apprehend the Most High's glory and express your desire to Him. You are then enabled to intercede for others by means of the Holy Spirit with 'groanings too deep for words' (Romans 8:26).

Finally, we must remember that a prayer is essentially a response to the Most High's calls for us. In that sense, prayer is a kind of teshuvah a word better understood as turning to the Most High in response to His call. The Most High's love for us is in question, and our turning of the heart toward Him is the answer. We are able to turn to the Most High because the Most High first turned to us!

The heart of a child, the Most High prefers sincerity of heart, passion borne of mercy, the 'weightier matters' of Torah, more than religious rites or sacrifice. The Most High of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear my voice. My heart is filled with love for you, but I am not a learned man, and I am at a lost for words before You. The only thing that I know is the letters of the Hebrew alef-bet, so please Master of the Universe, accept these letters from me and combine them to be words of blessing and praise to your Name!! Alef, bet, gimmel, dalet….

Just as the Most High, at the beginning of creation, made the world, out of nothing, so His creative power continues unchanged. The Most High takes what is infinitely nothing, what is worthless, despised and dead, and creates it new, for the sake of His glory. He is able to take a dead heart, a heart of stone, and make it tender and soft through the breath of His Spirit. Therefore His eyes look upon the lowly, the humble and the poor in spirit, but He disregards those who lift themselves up in pride.


Shema Selah we must consider that even our thoughts are prayers before the Most High!!