Thought I'll share what I've read.... so that I'll remember as well.
Why do Christians pray to God and what is the point of prayer? John Calvin answered...
"Believers do not pray with the view to informing God about the things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His bosom; in a word that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things".
- cited in John Stott (2006), Through the Bible, Through the Year -
My thoughts...
I am reminded once again on the importance of prayer. I mean, it's not just about communicating to Him as a friend, as a Father... telling Him about my needs or asking for help, or just pouring out my life story. Nothing wrong with that. It is the MAIN thing to communicate with Him and be transparent to Him, but we need to HUMBLY come before Him and present ourselves to Him.
I realize that sometimes we just simply come into His presence, assuming that whatever we bring or say is favorable in His eyes or 'okay' to His ears. Sometimes we be so self-absorbed and assume that we can babble away about our needs, our lives, our thoughts without really thinking about it through about what He'll think. Not that we should hide away our real thoughts and act perfect, say the perfect things, as if He doesn't already know the thoughts we have or the heart of it. Also, life does not only center around us. Often we forget to humble ourselves before Him and we forget that He is God. He has the right to kill us at the spot because we are unclean and unholy... but He does not because He is a merciful God. We need to remember/recall really, to whom we are coming to with our prayers. He is a God who not ignorant or hesitant to meet our needs, but prayer is not just about us, but really about Him. So, when we come before Him, should we abruptly come before Him without much thought... or CAREFULLY come before Him which much thought?
I do wonder often, why pray when there is nothing for me to say? The bible says when we pray don't keep babbling meaningless words... What we pray have to mean something. It's not simply for a 'good show'. This was how I responded for the last couple of months, "if I got nothing to say, then no need to say anything la. At least I'm presenting myself real before Him rite?" Isn't that kinda arrogant and ignorant? As much as I am not babbling to Him or presenting repetitions of prayers.. or try to show off that I can pray, it is no greater when you think that there is simply nothing you should or want to present to Him (meaning, you do not wanna seek or rely on Him or believe in what He can do) or there is nothing worthy to say about Him... simply nothing to praise Him about as well.
Another point, this question in the book stucked me, "What sort of a God is this who is chiefly impressed by the mechanics and the statistics of prayer?" It's scary if we have that kinda God, isn't it? It's not about how we structure our prayers, how perfect our prayer may sound, or how we can impress others with what we say to Him. It's not about the content of the prayer.... the super 'keng'/'chun' words we use over and over again or how much we babble/how many times we repeat ourselves to Him. It is about the heart of prayer... even with nothing to say, but the simplest or shortest words you can find to express yourself to Him and His worthiness... Or the act of being silent because you are in awe of His presence... those are meaningful prayers.
To sum it all, what is prayer all about? It's not merely about us... it is MAINLY about Him. It enhances His characteristics and a declaration that He is a living, personal, loving and powerful God.
I pray that God will change my attitude towards prayer and for those who struggles to understand what prayer is really about as well.
I am reminded once again on the importance of prayer. I mean, it's not just about communicating to Him as a friend, as a Father... telling Him about my needs or asking for help, or just pouring out my life story. Nothing wrong with that. It is the MAIN thing to communicate with Him and be transparent to Him, but we need to HUMBLY come before Him and present ourselves to Him.
I realize that sometimes we just simply come into His presence, assuming that whatever we bring or say is favorable in His eyes or 'okay' to His ears. Sometimes we be so self-absorbed and assume that we can babble away about our needs, our lives, our thoughts without really thinking about it through about what He'll think. Not that we should hide away our real thoughts and act perfect, say the perfect things, as if He doesn't already know the thoughts we have or the heart of it. Also, life does not only center around us. Often we forget to humble ourselves before Him and we forget that He is God. He has the right to kill us at the spot because we are unclean and unholy... but He does not because He is a merciful God. We need to remember/recall really, to whom we are coming to with our prayers. He is a God who not ignorant or hesitant to meet our needs, but prayer is not just about us, but really about Him. So, when we come before Him, should we abruptly come before Him without much thought... or CAREFULLY come before Him which much thought?
I do wonder often, why pray when there is nothing for me to say? The bible says when we pray don't keep babbling meaningless words... What we pray have to mean something. It's not simply for a 'good show'. This was how I responded for the last couple of months, "if I got nothing to say, then no need to say anything la. At least I'm presenting myself real before Him rite?" Isn't that kinda arrogant and ignorant? As much as I am not babbling to Him or presenting repetitions of prayers.. or try to show off that I can pray, it is no greater when you think that there is simply nothing you should or want to present to Him (meaning, you do not wanna seek or rely on Him or believe in what He can do) or there is nothing worthy to say about Him... simply nothing to praise Him about as well.
Another point, this question in the book stucked me, "What sort of a God is this who is chiefly impressed by the mechanics and the statistics of prayer?" It's scary if we have that kinda God, isn't it? It's not about how we structure our prayers, how perfect our prayer may sound, or how we can impress others with what we say to Him. It's not about the content of the prayer.... the super 'keng'/'chun' words we use over and over again or how much we babble/how many times we repeat ourselves to Him. It is about the heart of prayer... even with nothing to say, but the simplest or shortest words you can find to express yourself to Him and His worthiness... Or the act of being silent because you are in awe of His presence... those are meaningful prayers.
To sum it all, what is prayer all about? It's not merely about us... it is MAINLY about Him. It enhances His characteristics and a declaration that He is a living, personal, loving and powerful God.
I pray that God will change my attitude towards prayer and for those who struggles to understand what prayer is really about as well.
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