O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord; hear my urgent cry. I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me. – Psalm 86:5-7
I don’t believe we can ever talk too much about prayer and some of the wonderful promises God has made to us in regard to our petitions to Him.
“Today, God is inviting you and me to come home, to come home to where we belong, to come home to that for which we were created. His arms are stretched out wide to receive us. His heart is enlarged to take us in.” So begins Richard Foster’s wonderful primer on Prayer: Finding The Heart’s True Home. Foster continues,
“The key to this home, this heart of God, is prayer. Perhaps you have never prayed before except in anguish or terror. It may be that the only time the Divine Name of God or Jesus has been on your lips has been in angry expletives. Never mind. I am here to tell you that the Father’s heart is open wide, you are welcome to come in.
Perhaps some of you do not believe in prayer. You may have tried to pray and were profoundly disappointed . . . and disillusioned. You seem to have little faith, or none. It does not matter. The Father’s heart is open wide, you are welcome to come in.
Perhaps you are bruised and broken by the pressures of life. Others have wronged you, and you feel scarred for life. You have old, painful memories that have never been healed. You avoid prayer because you feel too distant, too unworthy, too defiled. Do not despair. The Father’s heart is open wide, you are welcome to come in.
Perhaps you have prayed for many years, but the words have grown brittle and cold. Little ever happens anymore. God seems remote and inaccessible. Listen to me. The Father’s heart is open wide, you are welcome to come in.
Perhaps prayer is the delight of your life. You have lived in the divine milieu for a long time and can attest to its goodness. But you long for more: more power, more love, more of God in your life. Believe me. The Father’s heart is open wide, you too are welcome to come higher up and deeper in.
If the key is prayer, the door is Jesus Christ. How good of God to provide us a way into his heart. He knows that we are stiffed-necked and hard-hearted, so he has provided a means of entrance. Jesus, the Christ, lived a perfect life, died in our place, and rose victorious over all the dark powers so that we might live through him. Use his name today as you pray. The door is always open.”
My friends, remember that we are encouraged to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) because God is always listening. Maranatha!
