Prayer: More than a Privilege

Prayer is more than just an awesome privilege given from the Lord to His children. My thought for today is about the authority and responsibility that comes with that privilege. Whenever authority is transferred from one to another, responsibility goes with it. One could say, "I gave you the authority. Now you are responsible!"

The same is especially true in the Kingdom of God. Because God transferred authority, unless I fulfill my responsibility to pray, it is as if God's hands are tied. If I don't pray, God will not act to answer what I should have prayed. When I do pray, the spiritual powers in heaven are activated to answer the prayer. Praise the Lord that He doesn't require us to move heaven and earth on our own. He just expects us to pray and do the little we can and He will do the rest.

James tells us:
2 You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. 3 And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong -- you want only what will give you pleasure. (James 4:2-3)
We get stuck trying to figure out whether we are praying amiss and never get around to praying. The reason we don't have what we want is that we don't ask God for it! Today I think of the prayers that God is waiting for us to pray. Do we dare sit idly, wringing our hands and flapping our jaws over changes that God could have made if we had only prayed?

The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy: 1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4 Holman Christian Standard)

Jesus told us to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven." (Matthew 6:10).

I wonder what would happen if all of Christendom prayed just those two prayers everyday. I don't think my mind is able to comprehend the changes that would occur. God has given us a part to play in His plan. It truly is a privilege to have open communication with the Creator of the Universe through prayer. Today I also see the authority and responsibility that come with it.

7 "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks." (Matthew 7:7-8 NLT)