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, have you ever thought about What is God going to say when you pray? That's an interesting subject there, James. Yeah, yeah, I love this topic, Robbie, because I think we come to prayer with so many reservations, you know, and And we can make it up in our minds to be something that it's not. And it's almost as if Jesus is holding out his hands to us and saying, if you would just come to me.
So I wanted to start by talking about some of those reservations. And the first, I've got four of them I want to go to. And the first is just this. Prayer is boring. What do you say about that?
Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah.
Well you know, there's times Especially w when I'm thinking about those lists and stuff that that I'm like, man, this is This is I've got other things that are more important. You know, that's because this is it seems like it's going to be boring. Yeah. Yeah, we we can feel that way. The the point is that Prayer opens the door to the greatest adventures imaginable.
Because no one is more creative than our God. He waits to welcome us. And when we come to him that way, really coming to him with faith and having that sort of. You know, where do you want to go today, Father? attitude, it it it changes our whole approach to prayer.
Because then instead of prayer being something that we have to do, it becomes something that we get to do. And I just think it's so helpful, just that little attitude adjustment. if you will. Instead of, well, prayer is boring. You know, 'cause I'm just printing this list kind of thing.
to keep your eyes open to to what God alone can do. and and go there.
So Um Here's the second one. I don't know what to say. Have you ever felt that way? No, yeah, almost every time I pray, probably every time I pray. Yeah.
You know, this is this is one of those places where Um it can happen for a couple of reasons. One, uh because of sin in our lives. You know, I don't know what to say. Uh Ca can I really Come to him. And The truth is that A He wants us to.
He wants us to be real with him about about our sin, about our reservations. And So instead of doubling down on our sin, he obviously wants us to you know, can confess our sins to him and ask for his help.
So That's the first thing, you know, i i and the second is It doesn't matter the words. we use. We just want to be real. I mean, what kind of a father is going to say, Well, you have to get your words just right before you can talk to me. And I think we feel that way sometimes because, you know.
There are those people who sound so good when they pray. Yeah. That's not what God's looking at, is it? No, it's the heart. It's it's the heart, there's no doubt.
Th the third one is kind of a fun one, and that is um God knows what I'm going to say. before I even ask.
So why bother? What do you think about that one? Yeah. Yeah, we've been there too. Like.
You know about this and we've talked to how many times now about this con? Right. Yeah. Yeah, or You know, people are just looking at prayer as a matter of uh requests and answers. And you know, again, this this Exchange.
of thing. Instead of looking at it as a relationship, and again, this is something that we talk about just about every week. Because when we start to see prayer as a relationship, Then we've got to understand that God wants the interaction of our hearts, of our souls. with him. And sure, he knows what we're going to say.
But He allows for all of that. You know? And in coming to him and saying Yeah, Lord. This is what I'm after, and you know it. There's actually real comfort in that.
Because it's like, God, you can see my heart. Your spirit is at work here in ways that I don't even know how to ask.
So Here it is. You know, it it's it's it's just here, take the hole, you know? Yeah. There's a fourth reservation. And I don't know, we may have time for a fifth, but The fourth is It's not going to make Anyway Difference.
So Why bother? Have you ever felt that way? Yeah. Oh, especially when it comes to prayers that I have about close family relations. Um Honestly, you know, and God knows, as we've talked about, like I go, like.
You know, I don't see this changing. Uh the faith is not here, you know, or or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Those times that you pray and you pray and you pray and you wonder, Lord, when is that going to change?
And I think that's a great place to pray a very biblical prayer that's found in the Psalms and found in the Revelation. And that prayer is How long? Oh Lord. Yeah, well you forget me forever.
Well you hide your face from me. Yeah, I I know that Psalm Yeah. Yeah. You you see God's people praying like this. throughout scripture and The beautiful thing is We can.
You know, when Jesus talks about faith, he talks about it in the smallest amounts being able to move A mountain. And and so I I think if we come to him And and just say, Lord, I've just got this little bit. Kind of like the boy with the loaves and the fishes. Right? I've just got this little bit.
But here, you you know my doubts. I you know My worries, my fears, but Father, here it is again. Here we are again.
So I'm gonna keep asking because Yeah. This is right. Lord, this is right. M I need your help. And I you know, I I think that That when you put all this together, first of all, Prayer isn't boring because This would be a good time to do that.
Let let let's do it. We just come to you and thank you that we can. And you know us, Father. You know our doubts, our fears, our worries, our are places where we struggle with unbelief. And we thank you that you are greater than all of that.
So we put our eyes on you, and again, we just praise you that we really can pray. And that in your hands Oh, it makes a difference. Thank you, Father. that we are in your hands. In Jesus' name, amen.
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. Yeah.
