Pray, pray, pray!

Pray, pray, pray!

Last Sunday’s message was about prayer.  As I was thinking about the message, the importance of prayer and all it means, these two words lingered in my mind:  frequently, intensely.  Jesus had already warned His listeners in the Sermon on the Mount not to pray robotically when he said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. (Matthew 6:7)

I started thinking we need to pray, pray and pray some more.  As I was meditating on this, yet another song came to mind!  (I guess I am more musical than what I thought).  Now this is one that only a nerd like me will know.  It’s from 1936 and it’s called Sing, Sing, Sing! It’s regarded as the best song ever recorded by Benny Goodman, the great band leader.  If you don’t know it, you should listen to it on YouTube. According to an article, Sing, Sing, Sing bristles with energy and reckless abandon, and it was capable of whipping crowds into a frenzy every time it was played! It’s quite an energetic song, alright. And I think that if you listened to it, you would agree.  It’s fast, it’s so exciting, it makes you start moving because you just can’t keep still.

Shouldn’t prayer be that way? Shouldn’t we be excited about the fact that we got an audience with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords any time we want?  When you pray, do you repeat the same words over and over or do you really understand what you are about to do? Is there sheer intention and thought in your prayer? I think Job 38 gives a jaw dropping description of who God is.  If we understand who He is, then we will have a better idea of whom we are addressing.  And if this is the case, we will be more inclined to pray more frequently and more intensely.

The most basic definition of prayer is talking to God.  The more you talk to someone, the more you get to know someone.  The more you know someone, the more excited you will be about that person.  Therefore, if you want to know God more, prayer is a great step towards that goal.  So… Pray, Pray, Pray!