I Wish I Had Said That!

I am so inspired sometimes when I read well-known Christian authors' books or iconic Christian preachers' sermons.  The thoughts they had!  The words they used!  The concepts they communicated!

When that happens, I usually say to myself, "I wish I had said that!"

One example is the excerpt below from preacher and author Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest) which has such wonderful insights about prayer...

I wish I had said that:

"The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer.  It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial -- that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray.  But Isaiah implied...that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other.  Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying.  Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work.  Are we worshiping God or disputing with Him when we say, 'But God, I just don't see how you are going to do this?'  This is a sure sign we are not worshiping.

When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic.  We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do.  We don't worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ.  And if we are hard toward God, we become hard toward other people.

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray?  Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

...Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him.  Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work -- work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls.  Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever."

So, prayer is not just giving God our list of needs each day.  Instead, it should be an act of worship, where we remember how amazing He is, give Him the glory for everything, praise Him for answered prayer, and SEEK HIS WILL for everything else.

Amen to that!