top of page

The Father Knows

Writer's picture: DeborahDeborah

New Series: Renewal



Matthew 6:8 ESV

Matthew 6:5-7 ESV

Philippians 4:6-7:ESV


One of my greatest pet peeves is when someone (or a group of people) try to tell me exactly how something should be done (just like they do it). That has always annoyed me, but until I studied the human brain in Seminary and how we all process information in a different way, I didn’t know why.


Matthew 6:8 blesses me because we are told, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”


In this case we ask, who is ‘them’?


Matthew 6:5-7 tells us who ‘them’ refers to: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”


I love the movie ‘War Room’.


I love it because it tells a great story, but I also love it because it normalizes having a commitment to prayer.


The movie not only focuses on the importance of prayer, it gives steps so the audience can realize how to take prayer seriously.


I love it because every time i watch it I am reminded I am ‘normal’.


When I was a child my favorite thing to do was to read. Every book I read told a story. I was able to visualize the story.


My da was a prayer. He would talk with me about praying and I would see him praying.


He never cried (which was generally true of men from his generation) but when he prayed I could see tears in his eyes.


I knew prayer was important from watching him pray and so when we talked about prayer in Sunday School I took it seriously. I wanted to learn how to pray.


The one thing that stuck with me about my dad’s prayers is that they were simple and to the point. He didn’t use flowery words or long phrases.


So, when I was by myself that’s how I prayed…short and to the point. Most of the time I would say one sentence and then I would sit in silence with God.


I didn’t tell anyone and I think that’s because I was a little afraid they would tell me I wasn’t doing it ‘right’.


As an adult who was often called on to pray I tried to follow the model everyone else used. That was very difficult for me and I really wasn’t comfortable praying out-loud. I thought I was doing it wrong.


After I turned fifty when everything in my life changed, I met a group of pray-ers and I attended a regular class in listening prayer.


That class and those people changed everything. My whole perception on how to pray changed.


I came to realize that there wasn’t one way (or even two or three ways to pray.) There was just MY way…me and God.


I also realized that whatever I did and however I prayed it was acceptable to God. For me, that meant that sitting in silence with God and letting God ‘hold’ me was my perfect way to pray.


That didn’t (doesn’t) mean that I don’t ask God anything. It simple means that when I picture it (because I am a visual learner) that IS my prayer.


See, God doesn’t really require words.


We have to remember that God is God and our means of communicating with God is acceptable.


God calls it good!


Now…I love sitting in silence with God.


I particularly love how the English Standard Version translated Philippians 4:6-7, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”


Don’t be anxious…just sit with God.


Be thankful to God.


We don’t have to use words because God hears our brain. God knows what we need.


Love God. We don’t actually have to say, “I love you God.” You can say that if you want to, but when you feel the feeling, God feels it.


When we are troubled about someone we can picture it and God receives it.


An empath can feel what others feel and when we are hurting for them we can sit in silence with God, and God feels it.


Words are okay, but no words are okay as well. The point is…God calls any kind of communication “good” and God receives it.


Spiritual Practice: Pray


Think, visualize, feel, or speak to God. Communicating with God using what God created in you makes God really happy because then…you are being your most authentic self with God. That makes God smile.


In God, Deborah


99 views

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


IMG_0754.jpg

About Me

I am a child of God. I can’t remember when God wasn’t part of my life. I served in a church setting for 30+ years and now I seek to help others see and find their sacred space. Daily when we turn to God we begin to recognize where God is at work in our lives.

 

Read More

 

Join My Mailing List

Thanks for submitting!

 Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page