Pray At All Times
“You pray in your distress and in your need. Would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”
Do you ever wonder if we make God shake His head? I often think that. I think of God looking at us and saying, “Do you ever bother to thank me? All you ever do is ask.” I also think of Him saying, “Don’t you know by now that you shouldn’t be doing that? What kind of example do you think you are setting?”
We talk about the importance of generosity. We talk about having charitable hearts. Yet, we seem to spend so much of our lives in the “gimme” phase when it comes to our relationship with God. We ask God, over and over again, for things that we do not need. We ask, beg, plead, cajole, and bargain our way with God. Do you really think that does any good? Do you think that God cannot see through us at those times?
Why is it that we only seem to turn to God in our distress or need? When we do so, we are making God out to be some kind of magic genie rather than who He truly is. God does not want to hear from us only in our distress or need. God also wants to hear from us in our joys and triumphs. God wants to hear from us in the milestone moments of our lives. God wants to hear from us always.
It is all right to pour our hearts out to God. He wants to hear from us. However, it is not all right to pour our hearts out to God if we do not go back to Him in gratitude for hearing us and providing for our need. It is not all right to ignore God the vast majority of our lives and only turn to Him when we need something. If we did that to a friend here on earth, I can guarantee that person would not be a friend for long. Why should we treat God any differently than we treat the people we care about here?
Don’t be afraid to turn to God. At the same time, make sure that you return to God in good times and acknowledge His help and His love. See a magnificent sunrise or sunset? He made it just for you. Thank Him for it. Did He provide for you when you asked for His aid? Let Him know how grateful you are. Don’t make Him a part-time person in your life. Bring Him totally into your life.
FAITH ACTION: Make sure that a good part of your prayer this day be of praise and gratitude.