All this month at actionchurch we are going to be learning about prayer. Jesus has given us very simple instructions in Matthew chapter 6. In plain black and white text, we get a “DO”, we get two “DON’Ts” and we get a “TEMPLATE”.
DO go into your room and close the door (verse 6)
DON’T pray like the hypocrites……DON’T babble like the pagans” (verses 5-8)
AND The legendary “Lord’s Prayer” (as seen everywhere in cross stitch version and in verses 9-14)
That sounds easy enough. Right? But it’s also easy to get caught up in the wrongs and the rights of prayer – Am I saying it wrong? Do I look right? Are these the right words? Should I be kneeling? Should my hands be raised or folded? Does this church include the “who art” part? That’s NOT what prayer is about!
Believe it or not – I think it boils down to something even simpler than Matthew 6. I think prayer is two little words.
- Talking
- Listening
You see, prayer IS communication in its simplest form; talking and listening. It’s about communication between God and you. No in between, middle man. No right or wrong words. No salesman on commission. Just you and God.
As we work through the Forever and Ever Amen series together I encourage you to think about how you talk and listen to other people in your daily relationships. And I encourage you to “RE-think” how you talk and listen to God as we all try to build a daily, more personal relationship with Him.