Before The Throne

Last night I went to a Monday night Bible Study that I've been going to lately with some different people from Mt. Pleasant. It is such a wonderful group. Most of us happen to be in our late teens and 20s. It is so awesome being the youngest one there and look up to those honest believers. They aren't perfect. In fact, it is just a group of sinners. Mixed from a vast array of backgrounds. But we come together with one thing in common, a love for our Savior. 


Yesterday we were talking about prayer. Prayer. That word is used so much that sometimes I just overlook what it even means. The prayer that we were talking about is not flowery prayer, but intense prayer before the throne of God. The prayer that is the sword against spiritual warfare. The kind of prayer that honestly,  we probably don't do often. But those are the prayers that terrify Satan and his demons. Why? Because they are what bring about amazing things among God's children. But I was sitting there thinking how hard it is to pray like that. My mind wanders and if it is early morning I'll be praying... and then all of a sudden, well... zzzzz. Yeah. That kind of prayer is hard. Really hard. That is when I realized that maybe it should be. How many churches have you attended where the people pray? I mean intensely, on their faces before God. What's wrong with most Christians and churches is that we really don't pray. We may ramble on some list and pray passingly for Aunt Betty, Grandma and Mom as we are half dosing. In church we pray before the sermon or after. The preacher says something that sounds really nice and we usually don't listen to most of it and come up out of habit on the "amen." Now, there is nothing wrong with lists or pretty prayers. And I'm not saying that we're falling asleep in prayers all the time. But isn't it easy to pray like that or see praying as nothing more than a list to read off or something pretty to say? Not always, but sometimes it is for me. 


What we need to see is that we have access to come before the throne of God and talk to Him as a Father. If we could see what intense, Spirit-guided prayers do to the spiritual warfare around us then maybe we would see it as what it is... AMAZING. We aren't talking to the ceiling, but to God. We shouldn't ask for things constantly, but nor should we be afraid to ask our Father for blessings. He wants us to talk to Him like His children, but also in total honor and respect. 


The thing about prayer is that it isn't easy. But we have to remember that Satan wants to do one thing more than anything... keep us from talking to his enemy. If we don't fellowship with God, then he knows that we will not be likely to notice when or what He wants us to do. Dear friends, it hit me last night that if we would truly pray, that our lives would change. Our churches would change. And more in our nation would see the wrong road we're walking down. God has so much to show us, but we are often satisfied with how things are. Let's go before the throne of God. He is waiting.