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Earnest, Focused Prayer

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."  Matthew 6:7

Observe carefully the prayer life of Jesus, and notice the earnestness with which He prayed. In Gethsemane He cried out with a loud voice, and in the intensity of His supplication He fell headlong on the damp ground and pleaded before His Father until "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). Too often--and in very sharp contrast--you and I use petty petitions, oratorical exercises, and the same words we have used for years rather than the cries of our inmost being.

Also, too often when we pray, our thoughts roam. We insult God by speaking to Him with our lips while our minds and hearts are far from Him. Suppose you were talking to a famous person. Would you let your thoughts wander for one moment? No, you would be intensely interested in everything that was said--and very careful about what you were saying. How dare we treat the King of Kings with less respect!

May our prayers today--and every day--be from our hearts and with the focus of our whole being!

From, HOPE for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, by Billy Graham.