Life is full of expectations. For instance, if you are employed, you are expected to show up to work on time. If you are a student, you are expected to do your homework. If you are married, your spouse has certain expectations of you. And if you are a Nebraska Cornhusker football fan like me, you are expected to suffer.
When it comes to prayer, there are also some underlying expectations. If you have an awareness and holy fear of God, one of those expectations is that you will pray.
As we continue our Investigating Prayer series in Matthew 6:5-15, we hear Jesus thrice say, "when you pray..." (verses 5, 6, & 7) He doesn't say, "If you feel like praying." His words assume that you will come before the Father.
Now, I don't point this out to try to make you feel guilty if your prayer life has been rather quiet. Rather, I want to encourage you to realize that the One True God wants you to come to Him in prayer. In Hebrews 4:16 (which we briefly looked at two Sundays ago), God tells us to approach His throne of grace with confidence because of what Jesus has done for us through the cross and empty tomb. My hope is that this truth might motivate you to make prayer a when and not an if.
As we saw a couple of weeks ago, Jesus tells us in verse 6 of Matthew 6 that we should find a "secret" place to pray (so that prayer isn't a show). This is obviously great advice as it comes from Christ Himself. Making a specific chair or couch or even the floor by your bed your place of prayer can do wonders for your prayer life.
But Christ's words don't mean that you can only pray in the "secret" place. God invites us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray continually." This means you can pray as you get dressed, as you drive in the car, as you sit in class, as you make dinner, as you hang with friends, as you read your Bible, as you basically do anything. God is not like your earthly dad who could only do one thing at a time. He is the all-present, all-knowing, all-wise God who can hear your prayers at the same time millions of Christ-followers around the globe are praying.
Finding a "secret" place can be a big win for your prayer life, but hopefully it will only be the beginning of praying throughout your day.
So, when can you pray? Anytime... including right now!
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