My husband and I taught the Sunday night youth group for years. One Sunday evening, I looked outside and there he was in the parking lot with the middle school boys. He had attached a rope to his Jeep and was giving each of them a chance to pull the jeep to them. They couldn't do it. The jeep didn't budge. But the harder they tried, the closer they "pulled" themselves to the jeep - tennis shoes and flip flops slipping closer to the Jeep as they struggled. He told them this is what prayer does for you. You may think you are pulling God closer to you when you pray, but God doesn't necessarily move - you do.
Matthew 6:7-8 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Jesus tells us not to babble when we pray - we have a conversation - we speak meaningful words from our hearts. We don't pray with meaningless words as in an incantation hoping the right combination with unlock God's power. We lay out our lives before God - focusing them on God - and let God speak into them. We don't pray with the intention of informing God of our needs... He knows them already. Prayer doesn't bring God closer to us - it brings us closer to God. It aligns our lives and plans with God.
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