Getting Intimate with God

I get a little self-conscious when I pray out loud.

It's OK to admit that.  If we're honest, I think a lot of people do.  In fact, it's getting harder and harder to find people, even adults, who will pray out loud over a group.  In the past, when I took adults on youth trip and events, I assumed they would pray out loud.  Now, before I go, I poll our adults to find their comfort level.

So yes, I'm self-conscious when I pray.  I know prayer is talking to God and that even in a group setting - like Sunday morning worship - I am still talking to God and not the congregation.  However, they are listening (or at least they are supposed to be listening) so when I pray in group setting I'm extra, special careful to not use the Lord's name as a space-filler in prayer.

You know what I mean. "Lord, please forgive us, Lord, for all the things we do, Lord and bless these people, Lord, as they go about your business, Lord..."

After a while, that gets a bit comical.  (And I'm not to proud to admit I chuckle quietly when someone prays that way.)  So, when I pray out loud in front of people, I make sure I'm keenly away of my vocal pauses.  To me, "Ummm" is better than "Lord" or "Jesus" or "God." 

In Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus says not to use vain repetitions when we pray.  That goes beyond saying the Lord's name as a vocal pause.  It goes to the heart of ritual.  God does not want us to recite some ritual, non-thinking prayer.  He wants to intimately know us and spend time with us and converse with us.  When we just recite some words, we're not really doing that.

We tend to think of prayer as something that's about us.  Our requests.  Our needs.  Our desires.  Prayer, though, is all about God.  It's about praying for His will, His direction and His desires.  We pray to spend time with him.  He wants us to pray so he gets to spend time with us.

When we start to shift our focus, prayer becomes so much more than requests and wants.  It becomes our private time with God - even in a public prayer. 

Take some time today to pray and spend time with your creator.  I know you won't regret it.

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