Prayer – E.M. Bounds
“The soul which has come into intimate contact with God in the silence of the prayer chamber is never out of conscious touch with the Father; the heart is always going out to Him in loving communion, and the moment the mind is released from the task upon which it is engaged, it returns as naturally to God as the bird does to its nest.” ~ E.M. Bounds
I love the above quote! I love the thought of having such an intimate relationship with God that this quote portrays – an ongoing conversation with the Lord through prayer. Yes, the conversation is interrupted here and there in order for the individual to focus their complete attention on the cares of this life, but just as soon as they are able, their mind goes right back to their communion with their Heavenly Father. Each time prayer resumes, there is no need for a “formal introduction”. There is no need for a time of confessing a month’s worth of sins. No, the conversation just picks up right where it left off…kinda like “now, as I was saying…”
Last night, our pastor mentioned just one reason why this type of relationship with God is so important. When there is a crisis in our life…when tragedy suddenly strikes (and it will), how very important to KNOW we are in “good standing” with the Lord. How very important to KNOW we have His ear. We cannot have that confidence if there is unconfessed sin in our hearts. I know…I know…we don’t like to hear that about our “pet sin”. But I guarantee, the sin we love now will be the very thing we hate one day…if it is what kept our prayers from being heard in a crisis. How very important to have that CONFIDENCE that only comes from close fellowship with the Lord!
There is nothing at all wrong with calling on others to pray when urgent needs arise. But, I guess the question this morning would be – if I were unable to get in touch with anyone else to ask them to pray, would I have confidence that my own prayers would be heard? I think being able to pray for our loved ones is far more important than any temporary pleasure that our sin may bring – don’t you?
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” Psalm 66:18
“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” I John 3:21