The Key That Opens the Door
Today’s Verse:
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight…. The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. ~Proverbs 15:8, 29
Proverbs 15 has a strong emphasis on the words of our mouth. Our words are our means of communication. Relationships are made, sustained, or broken by our words. Our words can be soft, or they can be hard. Our words can be encouraging, or they can be discouraging. Our words can build up, or they can tear down. Foremost in our communication is our communication to God. It is important that we do not minimize the priority that prayer should have in our lives. Let us use this morning to be encouraged that prayer is the key that opens doors in our life.
There is the exhortation.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1Timothy 2:8). We are commanded to pray always and everywhere. Prayer is to be a constant, ongoing exercise that we have with God. God wants us to enter into His presence more and not less. We are to pray when there is a need and when we don’t have a need. We are to pray when things are going well and when things aren’t going well. We are to pray at all times of the day. God calls upon us to pray.
There is the expectation.
Solomon refers to the prayer of the upright and the prayer of the righteous. Paul said that men are to lift up holy hands. He also said that we are to call on the Lord out of a pure heart. James refers to the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man. There is the expectation that we come to God with hearts that are cleansed and purified before any requests are made. Hearts and motives must be examined, sins must be confessed, and a right spirit must be established prior to making requests unto God. The wicked offer sacrifices and prayers that are unacceptable to God. God will not hear them because they are not on praying ground when it comes to their hearts and motives. Let us be sure that we seek God’s cleansing for sins of speech.
There is the execution.
Prayer is when we bring our heartfelt requests before God. There are requests that we should be making in accordance with God’s will. We should pray for laborers for the harvest. We should pray for souls to be saved. We should pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We should pray without ceasing. We should pray for great and mighty things. We should give our fears, our feelings, our finances, and our future to the Lord. We should pray in faith. We should pray for the devil’s power to be bound. We should pray about everything happening in our lives. We should pray with our spouses and with our children. We should diligently seek the Lord in humanly difficult situations. Prayer is more than just a spiritual exercise: it should be a ministry for great execution.
There is the extraordinary.
Prayer is the key that unlocks doors! Prayer is the means by which the hand of God can be moved in our favor and for the glory of God. Prayer is asking in the name of Jesus for “greater works than these.” God has given the gift of prayer to be the game changer. God will do the extraordinary through prayer. Without prayer, we are “as other men are.” With prayer, we have the edge and upper hand.
Use the key of prayer to unlock doors! Don’t let opportunities for God to work in your life go wasted! God delights to hear our prayers.
Have a praying God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Ezekiel 9-12