Why Developing A Habit of Prayer Is Easier Than You Think

“Was everything black and white in the olden days?”

“Are my cookies done ‘loading’ yet?”

“Why can’t boys have babies?”

These are just a few of the 472 questions my daughter asks me daily.  With big blue eyes, she glares up at me in anxious expectation for answers.

One day as my ears were a little sore, I wondered why she asked me so many questions.  Then, it occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t complain.  After all, she asks because she’s comfortable around me.  She asks because she trusts me with even the silliest of questions.  She asks because she knows nothing can change my deep love for her.

Even when she got too close to the ant pile or touched my hot Chi iron, she still came to me for help.  Both times I had warned her emphatically but guilt never trumped her need for me.  She knew that I was her source of help, comfort and an Elsa Band-Aid, even in the wake of disobedience.

We see the same kind of relationship between David and the Lord.  In spite of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, he was still called a ‘man after God’s own heart.’

What was it about David that afforded him this amazing title?

In 1 Samuel 23:2, God tells David to attack the Philistines.  After talking to his buddies, David becomes fearful of taking on such a formidable adversary and went back to God a second time to inquire if God really wanted him to take on the Philistines.  The Lord responds by repeating his command and reassures David that He will hand over the Philistines to David.

Sure enough, David attacked the Philistines and defeated them in battle. Through David’s relationship with God, we can learn so much about cultivating a habit of prayer:

1. David Was Honest With His Weaknesses

He didn’t try to hide the fact he was afraid but asked God a second time. In the same way, God already knows when we step in the ant pile.  He’s fully aware if we touch the hot Chi iron.  Instead of hiding behind our personal fig leaves of shame, embarrassment, or fear, God wants glass-like transparency because He already sees the condition of our hearts.  Not only does He sees us but He knows us.  He empathizes with our pain in a way no one else can.

Instead of hiding behind our personal fig leaves of shame, embarrassment, or fear, God wants glass-like transparency because He already sees the condition of our hearts.  Not only does He sees us but He knows us.  He empathizes with our pain in a way no one else can.Click To Tweet

When we hide our emotions from God, we exercise a form of pride or self-preservation because the focus is still on ourselves.  Pride didn’t prevent David from going to God with his fear.  When we are honest with God, we can enjoy the freedom, comfort and healing that can only come from Him.

2. David Gave His Fear To God

In spite of his fear in facing a larger, mightier army, David handed over his doubts to God. Fear is simply unbelief left unchecked.  Doubt is the root of fear but courage is found in knowing that God is Who He says He is.

“Lord I do believe but help me unbelief”(Mark 9:24) are words I have to pray on a regular basis. So many times, I doubt His goodness and his ability to control even the messiest of situations.  The first step towards belief is sharing our doubts with Him, no matter how blatant.

3. David Walked In Faith

David didn’t know how God would help them overcome the Philistines, but he knew He would. In the same way, David didn’t grasp how God would deal with the problem of sin but he knew God would.

He certainly wasn’t aware that his descendant would be the Son of God and would be the eternal sacrifice for the sin of mankind.  However, because of His faith in God, we have 73 psalms of David that transport us to what it’s like to believe God in every extremity of the human experience.  David walked out his faith, knowing that God had his best interests at heart.

David dealt more intimately with God the Father than anyone else in the pages of Scripture, with the exception of Christ.  David loved God and he lived like a man loved by God.

David loved God and he lived like a man loved by God.Click To Tweet

How about you? Do you allow your pain, embarrassment or fear to become a barrier in communication with your heavenly Father?  Do you struggle trusting Him with your plans because you don’t know what He has in store?

Know that He waits patiently for you to bring your burdens to His feet so He can carry them for you.  As a child of Him, living any other way is simply unnatural.

He’s the Creator of the universe, the Redeemer of all mankind and the Lover of your soul. No matter how selfish, broken or distorted your feelings may be, He longs to show you the rich depth of His great love for you.  When we give Him the keys to those dark places in our hearts, He opens doors we never knew were there.

May we, like David, believe that God is who He says He is.  May we approach the throne of grace with confidence and curl up in the lap of our Father with honest questions on our lips and a transparent love for Him in our hearts.

 

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Blessings,

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