Prayer|Pray for India | Bless India

Jesus said, ‘When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward.’ (Matthew 6:5 NCV). This was a case of prayer gone wrong because: a) their prayers had become totally shallow, not from their hearts b) their prayers were rituals, rather than genuine expressions of a loving heart c) their prayers were long winded and wordy, designed to impress others d) their prayers were filled with hollow, fancy phrases e) the prayers made them look good but didn’t touch God’s heart. They had forgotten the point of prayer.

But Jesus didn’t leave us guessing. No; He talked straight: ‘But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.’ (Matthew 6:6 AMP) If you spoke to your parents how you speak to God, they’d all laugh out loud. ‘O, great, most gracious and loving earthly parent, what is it that thou dost wish me to do?’ No wonder people get turned off! If you want to learn how to pray – read Psalms. A guy called David wrote most of the prayers and songs in it. They are spontaneous. Personal. Honest. No gobble-de-gook. No impressive Christianeze. They just let it all out. Straight talk thrills the heart of God and gets results!