Zany! Bright! Funny! Tasteless? Seems to be the criteria for proper attire for the “Let’s Make a Deal” show.
Contestants are there to win the prize. And that means you gotta play the game…and that means you gotta get chosen.
First to be in the audience
and secondly to play the game
and hopefully you win big!
So you gotta stand out.
You gotta get their attention, somehow. Some way! So the contestants began to wear “the crazier the better costumes.” And the crazy costumes seemed to be an pretty accurate indicator of a passionate guest, which makes for great television.
So there they are, wearing their crazy costume, jumping up and down, waving and hollering, trying to gain the attention of the moderator, so they can leave the big winner.
And that’s what it takes on “Let’s Make a Deal”
And sometimes we find ourselves wishing there was something we could do to get God’s attention because we feel like He’s not listening. Maybe you are like me, because there have been times, when I felt like God wasn’t paying any attention to my prayer.
I’ve felt ignored..kinda like when I’m trying to talk to Wayne and he’s on the other side of the paper or his iPhone reading something.
Or… sometimes, I’ve felt like God was far away.
And I’m not the only one either.
The Bible shares lots of instances where people prayed, “Listen to my prayer!” So they must have felt that same feeling that we get sometimes too. “Listen to my prayer, O God. Pay attention to my plea.” Psalms 54:2 And this is the only case I found in the Bible, either.
Often we don’t experience God with our natural senses, so we feel like God isn’t listening.
Have you ever felt like, Hey, God! Woo Hoo! Woo Hoo! God, do you hear me?
I could use some help here! God! Oh, please, please hear me!
So what do we do? Try to get God’s attention or just give up on the praying.
The truth is you don’t need to attract God’s attention.
Even when you don’t feel like He’s listening…
even when He feels far away…
Because the truth is…
we already have His attention…
even when we’re not aware of His presence,
He’s aware of ours.
And God listens.
1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
What a powerful, powerful thought.
You’ve got His attention.
simply because you are His child.
And we know He listens because:
- God tells us in Scripture. Jeremiah 29:2
- we are told to come boldly or with confidence. Hebrews 4:16
- when we are born again, we become family. Family has access. Galatians 3:26
- it is His nature as our loving Father. 1 John 3:1
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Ephesians 3:12
But the truth is…sometimes things we do and places we go can make us more aware of His presence and that He is listening.
Corporate prayer and worship encourages us to respond with prayer and worship. Closing our eyes can keep us from becoming distracted by people around us. Raising our hands can be a sign of surrender.
But we have to be careful that a worship service is not the only time we pray.
We must focus on Jesus so that kneeling or raising our hands does not become an empty ritual.
Let me explain briefly.
Kneeling can be a position of humility that reminds us to surrender to His will, but we can never shift into the mind set that it is the only prayer position. We can pray while we vacuum the house or the car. As the Queen of multitasking I am so thankful for that truth.
We can pray while we exercise. Personally, I wouldn’t think of exercising without praying…if you’ve ever seen me exercise, you know why I pray with greater intensity–prayers like…”Help me! I don’t want to die on this treadmill.”
But we also need those focused time of prayer.
Prayer is arriving on God’s doorstep clutching only faith.
Sometimes I’ve arrived with a sack of it
and sometimes, a seed,
a single,
solitary tiny seed.
And I learned to plant that single seed in prayer. In spite of it’s size.
Because the truth is…
the size of the seed, never determines the size of the harvest.
And because He’s listening…pray. Talk to your Heavenly Father. Often and sincerely. Here’s some things I’ve learned.
- You don’t need an emergency to pray. You can pray anywhere and at any time.
- You don’t need fancy words. While never being disrespectful, you can be comfortable in His presence.
- God doesn’t get confused and misunderstand what you’re saying.
- You can be honest with God. (He already knows the truth anyway.)
- You can trust God with your dreams, hopes and fears.
- Sometimes prayer calls for surrender to His will.
- Repent quickly. Repentance brings you life; while it brings death to the things that are destroying you.
- When you know God’s will on a subject, pray in faith instead of second guessing your prayer with …”if it be your will.” (His Word, the Bible, is His will.)
- Pray prayers you see in Scripture, just be sure to mean the words.
- Don’t pray prayers you don’t mean.
There are so many needs all around us, so don’t be weary in well doing.
Keep praying.
Keep looking to Jesus.
Because God still hears and answers prayer! So thankful!
Love you. Praying for you!
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