Talking to God

Prayer is an amazing thing. In a moment of time, with a whisper, a word, a plea...I can come into the presence of the creator of the universe and appeal for help, unload my heart, ask for provision, or simply sit in his presence. What an amazing thing...talking to the creator of the universe. But beyond that...even more amazing....he listens when I call. In a moment, with no one else aware of my heart, I can pray, "Oh Lord, help! Please...." And in that moment he listens to my request. He's there! He hears! He cares about me!
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I love the prayers of David. He's a man who knew how to pray. David is a "dump the truck" man of prayer. When he prays he puts it all out there. Over the centuries David has been mankind's best teacher on the topic of prayer. No one ever came to God so openly, boldly, or so passionately as David did. Here is part of one of the prayers of David and a few thoughts about talking to God...
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Psalm 86
A prayer of David.

1 Hear, O LORD, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.

You are my God; save your servant

who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,

for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant,

for to you, O Lord,

I lift up my soul.
5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord,

abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD;

listen to my cry for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you,

for you will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made

will come and worship before you, O Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

you alone are God.

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What an amazing prayer. You can feel David's anguish as he prays. You can almost see his pain, but at the same time there is a confidence, an assurance that he's not just talking to the wind. He's talking to God and he knows God will answer.

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The author of Hebrews invites us to prayer with these words from his book, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." As I've read that verse over the years I imagine this picture in my mind....in that quiet moment when I come into God's presence to ask for his help I'm surrounded by millions of others who have come at God's invitation as well to ask for help in their own lives. As I begin to pray, with that first word, "Father..." I'm keenly aware that the ear of the Lord is fully attentive to MY request. He is listening to ME! He hears my prayer and knows my need intimately. He cares about ME. And, in that moment of vivid awareness that I'm his sole focus, I am also aware that he is listening in the same way to each one who has come to ask for his help. It's wonderful and amazing that the God of the universe listens when I pray! With just one word, "Lord...." I am suddenly in his presence, before his throne, and his ear is open to my prayer, my need, my request. He cares about me. In that short verse in Hebrews the author makes it clear that I can come with confidence because he cares about me. His grace has made the way for me. In that time of prayer I find two things I most need...mercy and grace to help. So, in these wee hours of the morning, as I talk about this amazing God and the opportunity we have to talk to him, I'm going to leave you now and spend some time in his presence. We have some things to talk about.....I hope to see you there, in front of his throne, talking to the one who hears when we call....

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