Have you noticed that when we pray, our eyes are closed, our hands are resting, and our mouths are still? The only thing open is our ears. I think this visual picture describes how we are to pray: listen more and speak less.
I need reminding of this every time I pray. I’m usually heading straight to the point and dumping in Jesus’ lap all of the fears, concerns, and burdens that are plaguing me.
Jesus is not our therapist taking notes. He already knows the reasons we are in prayer. He is looking to see if we come with thanksgiving, a willingness to confess our sins to receive His forgiveness and grace, and humbling our hearts and minds to be ready to listen to His loving guidance.
That doesn’t mean Jesus would rather we didn’t pour our hearts out to Him. He wants us to give it to Him to take to the cross. He already knows our needs before we tell Him, but that doesn’t make him disinterested in our fears and concerns. We just can’t hog up all of our quiet time with Him asking for our world to be fixed. When we take moments in our prayer life to acknowledge and feel reverence for our Lord and praise Him for all that He is, all that He does, and all that He will do, then we gain the mindset that we are seeking the advice and counsel from the creator of the universe and not just someone who grants our wishes.
When we do pour out our hearts, it keeps things in perspective. Our problems may seem giant, but revering our God reminds us that He is bigger. He’s got this—we just have to remember who we are talking to. For prayer life to be effective, there needs to be more than a one-way conversation with one topic being discussed—ourselves.
When we pray, we need to practice quieting our minds and spirits to hear the wisdom that Christ is trying to speak into our lives. He loves us all so very much, and He has so much to say if we are willing to listen.