I receive a Charles Spurgeon devotional in my inbox each day. I find great insight, comfort and direction from these devotional thoughts and look forward at day’s end to taking time to read and reflect on each. Last evening the devotional was entitled “Your Cold Prayers.” Ouch. I could tell before I started reading that this one was going to hit home, as it already had.
The verse Mr. Spurgeon quoted to begin his thoughts was Psalm 66:20, “Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me.” He went on to explain how our Father God still acknowledges our pleas even if they are dry and few. This is not how I am to approach God, but in the event I do, He hears my plea.
Cold Prayers. Certainly I have been guilty as of late. It seems as if there are so very many needs for so very many people that I can’t keep up. We are told to pray continuously, and I do pray all throughout the day, but I have been lacking that special time of sitting down and concentrating on lifting up needs and prayers of praise while, in turn, listening to God’s direction for my life.
I can certainly tell the difference when I have Cold Prayers, which are hurried and brief, because the love of my Lord does not permeate my soul in the same way as when I spend extended time speaking with Him about others and seeking His will.
As God directs my life and awakens me to my need to get back to our prayer conversations, Sunday’s church scripture reading included Psalm 62:5, which plainly told me, “Trust in Him at all times; O people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.” Yes, God was saying to me, “Amy, I’ve missed our conversations. You have been just throwing up prayers for the ill, but you and I should be speaking more often.”
And all of that is true because when I rush through my prayers I am knocking at the door but I am not entering the Throne Room of God, where I kneel before my Father God and seek His face. That is a daily need for me. Maybe for you, too.
The real and lasting effects from sincere and consistent prayers with my Father are many. I recognize the Lord’s everlasting care for me – physically and mentally. I know when He heals a bruised muscle or a bruised heart. If I am reading His words and seeking His consolations in my life, that allows me to see others through His eyes, and then I hear God’s voice more clearly in my activities and interactions with people. If someone needs comfort, lifting up, or being cared for otherwise, I know if my Father is telling me to be the one to reach out.
My patience and tolerance are much stronger and longer when I recognize that what really matters in God’s view of humans is that their souls come to Him for reflection, comfort, repentance and renewal. That others hear and know my Father is of great importance to my heart, and He has put this request into my constant prayers.
As I study God’s Words and seek Him in prayer I know He gives me greater insight into His scriptures than I had before. As in all of life, the more time spent with others means the more we know and understand them. It is the same with our Father God. The more time I spend in prayer praising His wonderful care for me and His gifts to me, the more I am aware of actions He has taken that I may not have recognized as gifts from Him.
As I continue to lift up to God those that are ill, the more I become aware of His healing touch. As I pray through my prayer list God may remind me to call and check on someone, or He may tell me to send a card of encouragement. Daily prayers to God are truly building my communion with my Father.
All of the wonders received from a prayerful life slowly disappear if I neglect seeking God’s face consistently. I must sit, read His words, then bow and seek His face every day so that I may follow His will. As soon as I start having Cold Prayers I begin widening the distance away from my Father and His will for me. That is something I never want to do in my life, and now that I have received my reprimand I am returning to making prayers my priority once again.
Is not my Father wonderful that He so sweetly sought me back.
Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
