From the Edges – The Struggle of Prayer – Morning Devotional

From the Edges – Morning Devotional
Pastor Calvin Cook
April 13, 2024 – The Struggle of Prayer –

Scripture focus – Romans 8:26-27 6 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

The morning breaks, the alarm goes off, what are our first thoughts. Is our heart immediately drawn to God and presence or are we quickly drawn to our to do list, our pains, our circumstances. Is our first response to the new day to look at our electronic device. Becoming distracted by all the hooks of social media, games, without a consideration of the one who gives life.

My sincere thoughts have been centering around prayer. Is my prayer life centering within my own hopes and desires or is it centering in God’s will. Where are we praying from our mind and everything our mind tells us we need or from our heart? When we don’t know the words because of our own weaknesses and not knowing which way to turn, we forget the heart of God and God’s desire to heal and refresh our souls according to his plan for our life.

I believe one of the earliest prayers prayed is in Genesis 3 after the first man and woman betrayed the direction of God and committed that one thing they were warned against. At the direction of evil, they gave in and began a separation from God that exist to this day. We have inherited in many instances the sins of our ancestors and followed bad examples to continue to guide us. But just as God did with Adam and Eve he does with us when we have fallen. The Holy Spirit shows up and says “Where are you”. Whether we say it out loud and we really don’t need to, we respond “we are hiding”.
Later in the last verse of Genesis 4 – the proclamation is made “and people began to call upon the name of the Lord”. How is it with you? When will we quit hiding from the Lord in our prayer life. Most of the time our prayer life is centered around our needs physically, emotionally, financially, we utter these little words to relieve our own burdens but is that what a genuine relationship with God is all about. God does for us, and we say thank you, and move onto the next crisis. Maybe we should move to the prayers that the Holy Spirit might be praying for all of creation.

I believe this kind of prayer life is the example of the early church. Notice how many times it mentions in Jesus’ teachings and in Acts – “they withdrew for prayer”, “they gathered in prayer”, “they were together praying”. I am fairly positive that their prayers centered around that God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit might be glorified. God is glorified when we proclaim the answers to prayer and do not return to our own ways but instead have a heart and mind rooted in Christ Jesus.

May our worship begin with prayer. May our prayer include the witness of God working through every situation that we have surrendered to God.

May thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.