Good morning, friends.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 1:24, “And they prayed and said, ‘You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen.’”
As a child, I learned to pray, “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed, thank You for our daily bread. Amen.” And whenever it was my turn to pray before a meal, those are the words that I would say. And without me realizing it, that prayer taught me much about God. For I didn’t understand until much later why God was called “great,” but then also called “good,” as if He was immediately downgraded in some way. But as I matured, I began to grasp the greatness of God’s power and domain while learning more and more about His goodness to me and those around me. Learning and praying that prayer taught me to give thanks to God before I ate the food He provided. It also taught me to pray before I did other things throughout the day. As the disciples did before choosing Matthias, I prayed before making a big decision or beginning an important task, and that, too, has not changed.
But I must confess that there have been times when my prayers have been more about the exercise than about the God to whom I prayed. You see, I don’t believe every prayer uttered, even in Jesus’ name, gets answered. The disciples prayed one simple sentence about a future leader of the creation of the church. Did they really believe what they said, or was it done because they always prayed before decisions were made? I think it’s safe to assume that they fully believed what they uttered.
But I believe that you and I can be far more prone to let habit interfere with authenticity. If your heart is true, then one sentence may be the perfect prayer. But if not, that rote expression or a ten-minute soliloquy may reach no further than the ceiling. If you’re fully trusting that God has everything in His hands, and what you pray is purely an extension and expression of that, then the particular words and the number of them don’t really matter too much. God knows the heart, and when we reveal to Him what He already sees, there is communion with our Lord. God is great, and He is good. Be wholly convinced and dependent on that as you bow your head in prayer.
As we seek Him today, do more than just pray a prayer. Share your heart with the Almighty.
Have a wonderful Tuesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
