“As we unearth the real desires of our hearts, we begin to see our assumptions about God, and we see more clearly who we really are. . . . If God is who he has proclaimed himself to be and ushers us into the prayers of the Son and the Spirit, then there is never a time to hit the pause button in prayer. . . . Our hope resides in God and not in our ability to pray properly.”- Kyle Strobel
Kyle Strobel and John Coe conclude Chapter 3 of Where Prayer Becomes Real as they stress the need to bring the full truth to God as we humbly submit to His grace and mercy. Because our only hope rests in Him. Only God serves as our true refuge.
Furthermore, unless self-talk paves the way to give our hearts to the Lord, we must learn to banish it from prayer. Like the psalmists speaking to their souls to give the truth to God, we don’t talk to ourselves in prayer. Thus, sharing your whole heart with God puts you on the path to real prayer. Certainly, this saves you from a boring prayer life. Here you truly discover God’s promises.
However, John Coe admits what happened as he transitioned to deep honesty in prayer. He realized how little he really believed what he claimed to believe. But a change occurred when John began to pray from that unbelief. He started to see what Jesus meant in His teaching on prayer. That in prayer we talk, not with an earthly father, but our Father in heaven.
Yet, long seasons of spiritual dryness often throw us back on ourselves. Instead of turning to God, where our only true hope resides. Scripture, however, turns us to truth itself, to the God greater than our hearts.
In conclusion, Kyle and John counsel:
“To unearth and transform our expectations, we need more than information; we have to live into these realities in our prayer lives. Only by wrestling through these things in prayer do we come to embrace the depths of God’s forgiveness, presence, and mercy. It is here where prayer slowly deepens, as water in a stream slowly forms the stones along the contours of the current.”
Today’s question: What assumptions cause you to hit the pause button in prayer? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Prayer book of the church – the Psalms”
