Daily Devotionals

Grace for Today

Devotional: April 3rd

Luke 11:2

‘When ye pray’

Read Luke 11:1-13

The wise man gives us this solemn warning: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few’ (Ecclesiastes 5:2). I would do nothing to discourage either public or private prayer. Indeed, we ought all to pray more. But in the act of prayer, we should consider who we are and to whom we are speaking. If we would, I am sure that our prayers would be more earnest, more reverent, more sincere and more effectual.

True prayer is seeking the will of God. A believer does not dictate to God what he should do in prayer. Rather, he seeks to know the will of God. This knowledge can be given to us only by the Spirit of God. If we can, at least in measure, know God’s will in a matter, then we can pray with confidence about it.

We make our petitions in the name of Christ. Praying in Jesus’ name is much more than simply tacking the name of Christ on the end of our prayers. It is praying in the conscious awareness that Christ is our only grounds of acceptance before God. It is praying in faith in the righteousness and shed blood of the Son of God. Christ alone merits favor with God. And we pray, asking our favors upon the ground of his merit.

Real prayer is submitting to the will of God. Like our Lord, we must learn to pray, ‘Thy will be done.’ We are all prone to pray that God will heal such and such a person, or save such and such a person, because of our relationship to that person. But what is God’s will in the matter? That is what we must seek. When we pray, let us submit our personal desires to the will and glory of God.

Prayer is an act of the heart. God cares nothing for the length or eloquence of our prayers. He looks upon the heart. If at heart we are humbled, submissive, reverent and believing, our words might be fewer, but our, prayers would be more effectual. ‘Lord, teach us to pray!'