Three Powerful Ways to Pray (Part One)

As I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve learned how to cover up the “trouble spots” on my body. Longer sweaters, vests and I wear black as my base a lot. While I may disguise my weight gain to friends, I know the extra inches are there and also realize I need to take drastic action to trim down. Can anyone else relate?

When we pray, we often hide our “trouble spots” in God’s presence. Maybe it’s wrong thinking, jealousy of another person, or unforgiveness in our heart. We treat God like anyone else we are hiding a flaw from, rather than acknowledge he is an all-knowing God who sees everything.

God wants us to lay every aspect of our lives before him.

Good and bad.

He knows it anyway, but he desires for us to confess it, creating intimacy.

Psalm 139:1-2 says, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”

So I started being more transparent than ever with God. During my prayer time, I uncover the hidden stuff before my Heavenly Father, the good, the not so good and the ugly. He knows it anyway so why am I trying to act holier than I am? And what I am finding is when I allow the Lord to shine his light on those hidden places, the ones I am not so proud of, I free him to do some deep cleansing and body work that is desperately needed.

Let’s face it. There’s nothing we can hide from God.

The Samaritan woman at the well knew this.

During his conversation with her, Jesus revealed facts about her life that she might have previously kept close to the vest. Five past husbands. Currently cohabitating with a man. How could Jesus already know this after one meeting? It was enough for this woman to become a follower. Scripture says she ran into town and said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29) The Word also says many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her testimony.

When Jesus first met Nathaniel, he told him where he had been sitting before. “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you” (John 1:48). That was enough for Nathaniel to follow Jesus and proclaim him as the Son of God.

And in Luke 11:17, it says that Jesus knew the religious leaders’ thoughts. That just made them mad.

How will you react?

How will your prayer life change if you acknowledge God knows every last detail about you, down to the hairs on your head?

He knows every thought.

He knows every action.

He knows every motive.

And we cannot achieve the intimacy he desires unless we’re honest with him.

Today when you pray, try being painfully transparent before God.

Remove the dark cover you have over the not so attractive aspects of your life.

And achieve a greater intimacy than you’ve ever had before in prayer. (LBW)