We have often under-estimated the intensity emotion brings to words. At the right times in the right places the emotion far outweighs words. Hypocrisy is the Greek word for play-acting. Many play-act when they pray. Their words sound pretty good but their lives do not match what they say when they pray. Prayer is not for the passer-by. When we speak to the Ancient of Days (through this medium called prayer) we unleash far more than ourselves. Our language needs to be correct, that is true, but how we live determines the effectiveness of They who await our approach to that throne!! The “They” I am writing about are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for what a man sows that shall he also reap”. There are some who “mock” God when they pray. “Influence peddling” will not work with God. He DEMANDS sincerity, conscientiousness, and heart-felt repentance. A cry to the Father is not a flippant thing; it is a prayer for HELP!! What we say with our lips had better come from the soul! The prayer originates with our lives long before it is prayed, it is not lip service!! It had better have a place from which it springs and not be just a knee-jerk reaction that fills a demand, request, or necessity. Kept within the heart, not on the lips, there is a tenderness that the world cannot approach and it becomes real. We pray sometimes when we say not a word with our lips and our whole being is altered while sometimes we speak out loud and nothing and no one is affected, truly not God! Alone in our own little world or when a crowd attends our desires He whom we approach will not be mocked with insincerity nor will He be punctual to answer!!
The world cannot understand our hearts and will surely sneer at our words. Abraham’s tenderness to Isaac also made Ishmael jealous. The world cannot understand the response we who are children of God receive when we pray!! Ishmael laughed when Isaac cried before he was weaned but Isaac had no cause for shame. The mocker is robbed of the blessing not being apart of the covenant. He cannot understand nor can he be privy to Abraham as was Ishmael. The saint who cries to God is blessed. “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free.” Galatians 4:30 The reverberating rage from the lips of Sarah reacted to this mockery and raised the intensity to such a level that her words were not the catalyst that removed Ishmael and Hagar from their stations; it was the communication of one heart to the other, it was the understanding brought about by a relationship of a much higher level accorded she who spoke, and it was the power she had with Abraham that demanded such earnest response!! Abraham did not react with indifference, he did not put off his decision until the morrow; he reacted with the same intensity declared in Sarah’s heart!! The earnestness of her plea did not produce the thought in Abraham’s mind “who does she think she is”, it demanded the reality of her position. When we pray to the Father we must grasp the same earnestness and desire to receive the same reception to our words!! When we pray as directed no worlds or kingdoms, no sneering or mockery, no jealousness or envy can stop the response our words have affected!! What saith the scriptures: “But let that man ask in faith, nothing wavering: For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” James 1:6 We then can join in in singing the old hymn “There’s a blessing in Prayer”.
Wake up in the morning, during the trail, when the soul is burdened—know the “Father Himself loveth you”, John 16:27. Avail yourself of the power given the faithful son of God; understand He has appointed you a defense attorney outweighing all others!!
