We know not how to pray as we ought ~
The last few Good Words written about prayer have been with the hope it has confirmed or enlarged our understanding about communing with the Father.
Concerning prayer, let us remember He isn’t looking for perfection, rather simple engagement. He’s quite comfortable with hearts desiring and engaging while learning and growing.
Prayer is not a formula. Prayer is not a six step principal you tick off to make sure you’re getting what you want. Prayer is the intimate communion we’ve been invited into with Almighty God as our heavenly Father. We approach with reverence and awe, yet we hold this child like wonder of knowing the very special relationship we have with Him as Abba Father.
This week I want to write about presumption being a danger to effective prayer.
Psalm 19:13. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me, then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. KJV
From Strongs Concordance on ‘presumptuous’ ~ Zed: H2086 - proud, arrogant, insolent, presumptuous, over-confident; Presumption (behaviour) audacious or arrogant behaviour to which one does not have a right.
From vocabulary.com we read; ‘The noun presumption pretty much means jumping to conclusions. It is taking something for granted — an idea, an answer, an event — without having any real knowledge about it, and that is usually not a good thing.
Making a presumption means assuming something is true or false without getting all the information necessary for verification. You can decipher this from the prefix pre, which means "before," together with the sume — from the Latin sumere, "to take." Because so many times a presumption turns out to be false, the word has a negative connotation to it; there's something reckless about making up your mind before you know all the facts.’
It’s a wise believer who doesn’t assume before he seeks. Jesus invites us to ask, knock, and seek with the promise that we would find and receive, Matthew 7:7-8. While we know all authority has been granted to us, it is still His authority. We are invited to rule as He is ruling. We are invited to decree what He is decreeing. Jesus with his disciples in the midst of a storm, rebuking wind and waves, does not do this presumptuously, but rather from the place of intimacy already birthed with His Father; knowing what to say and how to act.
The phrase given to us; ‘in the name of Jesus’ was never intended to be a blanket approval for our every thought and whim but rather a statement that decrees I am here in His place, doing AND saying EXACTLY what he is. I’m actually declaring the knowledge I have about His purpose and His will in this moment. Can we do that with confidence? We have many scriptural precedents we can copy but are they right for that moment? We hold knowledge of many promises from the word, but are they the creative word of God for those situations? Are we quick to lean into agreement with others asks without taking the time to understand first the ‘ask’ and then bringing that to the Father for His input and direction? Presumption is not something we want attached to our prayer life.
We want to be found ‘in Christ’ declaring with Him: “The words I say to you, I do not speak from my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His works.” Then, like Jesus, we know when our prayers are released they come with the creative working of God.
Lord, teach us to be effective in our prayers.