Day 7: Matthew 6-9

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7, ESV)

Ever listened to someone pray while squirming with uneasiness in your heart, because you could sense in your spirit they were praying more for man than to God?

Ever knelt on your own knees, wondering how to reach the heart of God?

I wonder why we try to pray just right when God's eyes are already roaming the face of the earth, looking for His daughters whose hearts have been made right by His love? Look at how simply Jesus tells us to pray:

He wants His name to be hallowed.

He wants us to ask that His will be done on earth, just as it is in heaven.

He wants us to ask for our needs.

He wants us to ask for forgiveness, and to forgive those who've wronged us.

He wants us to ask for protection from evil.

He also wants us to keep asking, like the widow who bothered the judge for bread while he was in bed. She didn't turn away after he refused to come. She kept asking, and then finally, he came (Luke 18:1-8).

Jesus tested the faith of another woman when he told her it wasn't right to give the children's bread to dogs, implying she was a dog rather than a child (Matthew15:26 ). She pushed through and told him that even the dogs got crumbs. He immediately gave her what she wished for, while praising her for her faith in Him.
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Keep coming to Jesus, but don't worry about how you come. God's Spirit intercedes for you with groanings even He cannot utter. In your weakness, you are covered by Someone who knows how to touch the heart of God because He is part of the Godhead, Himself.

When you have no words to utter, know that the Spirit utters even better ones for you.

Just keep coming!

​-Sara