Experience proves that some types of prayer are a whole lot more effective than other types of prayer.
For instance, pleading, begging or bargaining with God brings meager results.
Jesus said that our Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8). The Bible also teaches that God is Love. Love would never withhold what we need. Love gives unconditionally, impartially and promptly. There is no holding back, qualifications or strings attached to Love’s gifts.
So, if God knows our need and promptly supplies it, what keeps us from seeing the supply?
This very question helps sort out the purpose of prayer.
The purpose of prayer is for us, not for God.
Spiritual thinking is the reasoning and listening that puts thought into a receptive state of mind to hear, see and follow God’s direction, and gets to the solution God is offering.
One time my wife told me how to operate our new dishwasher. I ignored what she had to say because I figured I knew how to do it on my own. “I don’t need anyone else’s advice,” I reasoned. When I went to start the dishwasher, I failed. I pushed the wrong buttons, messed up the settings and later stood forlornly looking at a bunch of dirty dishes.
The relationship of humans to God is often this way. God is always offering the guidance, solution and help we need, but pride, ego, self-righteousness and self-love get in the way. They blind our thought to seeing what God is seeing. Effective prayer gets the blind ego out of the way, clears thought for God’s angel messages to be heard, and sooner discerns the supply God is providing.
The purpose of prayer is not to tell God what we need. He already knows and is supplying it.
Thank you, Evan, for yet another helpful
reminder. (Love the dishwasher story…who can’t relate to not wanting to take orders from the Manufacturer’s Directions Pamphlet!)
I listened earlier to The Daily Lift that is sent
to subscribers (free) from The Mother Church.
It was so so helpful on the subject of human
opinions, and how one must leave these for
best listening to the One Mind, God, for
ideas. Fit well with this one.
Thank you God for so much Good!
:<) Sue
Isn’t this a good example of what we shouldn’t be, a macho man, one who thinks he thinks he knows when truly he doesn’t. We are all guilty of that serpentine suggestion at one time or other. The thing about it is what we do with it that counts. If God is telling us, we will be humble and listen. I have a saying; “One who knows every thing, KNOWS NOTHING, but one who knows nothing, KNOWS EVERYTHING. Meekness is the thing to practice, not Macho.
Seeking the Truth through Love works well for me.