April 25

Happy Thursday! And how are you doing? I have been thinking since yesterday afternoon about something a young co-worker asked me. She said “Pam, do you have a lot of church girl friends? Because it seems to me that church ladies are mostly up tight and not very fun. They seem to be afraid to let their hair down and relax.” We had been laughing about quite a few thing just before that and then, that came seemingly out of the blue. It took me by surprise at first but then, I began to understand where the confused, 20-something was coming from. 

I think it’s exactly what Jesus was telling us when He said: 

““And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:5-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer is not entertainment; it's a time of fellowship with God.and if we are going to be in real fellowship, real friendship, we need to let our hair down and be real. If people watching us know we are putting on a show, being “uptight” how much more does our Father realize it’s all a show?

Praying for a long time, using many words or repetition doesn’t mean we are more likely to get God’s attention. I really don’t know why we feel that God might hear us better like that, but for a very long time, I did. I felt like if I didn’t pray for a long time, it wasn’t a “real prayer.” Matthew 6 makes it very clear that it’s not about words, length or repetition, because God knows all about it anyway. It’s about quality—the right heart attitude, concentrating on what we’re doing, trying to live a life that doesn’t contradict our prayer life—not how many times and ways we can say it. 

What is important is that we have a desire in our hearts to pray, that we pray every day and that we eventually look forward every day to our prayer time. I know it can be hard to pray and something can always take precedence. It’s a really important part of our Christian walk and Satan does not make it easy, but with discipline keeping us on track, we will come to love our prayer time—look forward to the time we enter I to the presence of our holy Father, expecting to meet God during that time. What a change! It’s delightful. 

Lord, thank you for the gift of prayer. That we can on our own, any where, at any time, enter into the holy of holies and commune with you. You ripped the veil and gave us full access to you at any moment. So now Jesus, like the disciples, we ask you to teach us to pray. Guide us to your feet and to sit, and let our hair down. We want to be real in your presence—not uptight, playing a part and trying to be something we aren’t. We love you and worship you Lord and our true desire to be be more like you day by day. Hallelujah to our King! Amen and amen. 

Love you dear one,

Pam