Praying with Affection

This is the Truth Network. Encouraging prayer. God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything. On encouraging prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.

And now, here's James.

So today on Encouraging Prayer, we're going to talk about praying with affection. Talking to God not only from the heart, but also with your heart. Oh oh, this is gonna be good, James. Yeah, I love this topic, Robert, because I think it's one that's often missed. Yeah.

I'm going to start with a little quiz. It's missed except at Christmas. And at Christmas, we use a word that we hardly ever use at any other time of the year. And I'm not sure. Why it's that way, but here it is.

That word is in the chorus for, Oh, come, all ye faithful. Let's see if you can fill in the blanks. Oh come let us Adore him. Yeah. Right.

We don't use the word adore much, but I guess we should because there's nothing wrong with having affection, adoring Jesus. Yeah, exactly. Why don't we use that word more? I mean, you think about it. We're just so.

Reserved sometimes, and I get it. You know, people don't want us to seem. Over the top emotionally, but That's a beautiful word, and it's a deep word. And this is also biblical. You know, I think about when the sinful woman anointed Jesus' feet at the house of Simon the leper, and he said, She has done A beautiful Yeah.

All right, good. I think that God's perspective on this has got to be a little different from ours. No, I I I am With you so much that you know, that's one of the ways that because one of the struggles I always have is just staying focused in prayer. Like, you know, the squirrel going, you know, this way and that way and this way and that way. But when I'm focused in on adoration, you know, where I'm really connecting there.

It helps me stay focused. Yeah, and again, that's what this is all about: adoring the Lord. And you know, what really got me thinking about this yesterday. Was my wife and I had our last Labradoodle puppy that went to his home. And I spent part of the day with that puppy just hanging out with him.

And every time it's the last puppy that goes, and this is the last of the last puppies for us. Um But Every time that happens, I find Getting sentimental. About the pop. Because I just love them. I always have loved them.

And I got to thinking, you know, what is it about that? What is it about them that I love so much? And yeah, they're cute and soft and furry and whatever, but they're also amazingly affectionate. And, you know, you When a puppy just loves you back, And there's there's no real reason for it, that's just who they are. That that made me think, well If I'm made in the image of God and I love this about a puppy Then Maybe I need to be more puppy like sometimes.

With Jesus. And again, I know that could sound silly. But it's you know it's the whole notion of being childlike. And I think we need to push that a little bit, don't we? Oh, you know what's funny about that is just yesterday, I mean, seriously.

We we have a a a little duck toy doxin and You know, we had to leave her in her crate because we actually had a long meeting at church, and you know, she'd been in there for hours and hours. And we get back home late last night, like 9 o'clock. And I let her out of the crate, you know, thinking anybody else would just be mad as I'll get out, but not Ruby. You know, she couldn't be any happier to see me than if she just left. It was just like there is nothing but love and affection for the fact that you're home and let's play and let's do whatever.

And I immediately thought the same thing: like, why can't my, you know, no matter what happens, why can't I feel that way towards God?

Well, and I think what this shows us is that we too often make prayer this cerebral thing. I mean, if you think about it, if your dog could talk. What would he say?

Well, I love you because I love you because I love you because I love you. Right. Right. I I think that That just coming to God with that kind of, I just love you, Lord, because I love you, because you're worthy of love. You know, I just love you because I love you, right?

That is the language of adoration. You know, when uh when lovers love, they repeat themselves. You know, I love you, I love you. And That's the way it should be sometimes in our relationship with God. Granted, not always, that's just a part of prayer.

But it's such an important part, and I just think it's a part that we miss too often, which is why we only sing, Oh, come, let us adore him. You know? Fuck. Once a year. I mean It's a it's a Christmas hymn.

you know, okay.

Well, we've got also a joyful We adore thee, but we need to make more of this. Oh, I do. Oh, because it's for me, you know, it's just like this is a breakthrough just listening to you talk. Because it was just this morning, I'm like, man, why can I not? Get focused here.

Why am I keep struggling? And as soon as you said this, I went, oh, I know what it is, that that's the lack right there. And actually, you know, as I think about it, James, this is actually a pretty good thing that we can pray that he would give us more of that because I don't think it comes natural. Yeah, yeah, and actually, if you think about what the antithesis is. It's sin.

You know, If we're to love the Lord our God with all our heart, Soul, strength, mind. You know, again, first, it's interesting that heart comes first. But what is it that really causes me to drift into sin? It's it's that place of having affection. For God, my affection has gone somewhere else.

And, you know, wherever that may be, whatever it is, I'm drifting toward. Uh oh.

Now you now you've gone to preaching James. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I guess we'd better pray.

I I think that's a good yeah, and pray that we'll do this, Robbie. Let's go. Jesus, thank you. Thank you for this reminder in so many different ways of where our affection needs to be and what true affection looks like. I pray that you would help us with this, Lord.

Show us the way, enlighten our hearts that we would be able to get there. And that we would truly have that relationship with you that's just based on who you are, not what our circumstances are. Again, I thank you so much for this insight today and I pray that you'll help us all use it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray. Yeah. This is the Truth Network.

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