God Desires Quality Not Quantity
When we moved to Seattle, I maintained a close relationship with a friend from Minneapolis even though we rarely talked on the phone. But when I would go back to Minneapolis, I would go to her house and we would laugh, drink iced tea, and talk for hours. It wasn’t the amount of words we spoke to each other, but it was the quality in our relationship that kept us close friends.
I once thought God wanted quantity in our prayer life in order for it to be effective. But that’s not altogether true. We may pray eight hours straight but if we just speak a bunch of idle words from our head that we think will impress Him, then we have missed the true meaning of prayer; it’s not the quantity of words, but quality of words from our heart to Him. Its communicating on a personal level like we would talk to out dearest and closest friend. Because at the end of the day I am talking to my dearest friend, my friend with whom there is no distance in space or time that could cause our relationship to be strained.
Idle words are mere babbling and offer no relief since they come from the head and not the heart. I used to come into God’s presence with a head full of idle words. Soon my mouth got dry, I ran out of words, and if I was on my knees, they became sore, and I would shift from one knee to the other. And I would tell myself, “I’m getting nowhere fast.” As a result, I would get off my aching knees and the rest is history.
Our relationship with God exceeds any earthly relationships. He doesn’t keep a list of our naughty or nice actions like we used to tell our kids around Christmastime. He just wants to hear our voice and allow our prayer conversation to be a two-way avenue. Because you know HE always has a download of answers and directions for us. It’s impossible to have a dull conversation with Jesus. HE could hold your attention for hours.
Always know that God’s heart requires intimacy with you. That’s because He is a relational God. There is a secret place in your prayer life where without a shadow of doubt you meet with your Father. The secret place of the Most High is a place where you are in Christ. Wouldn’t you agree that being in Christ is to be in the safest hiding place? How did you get to be in Christ? By receiving the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Once you are a born-again believer, your heavenly Father sees you in Christ. You are safe, protected, and secure in the hiding place! Just talk to Him, speak from your heart, be anchored in His truth, and see yourself walking in a greater measure of His divine protection in the days to come.
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (Isa. 26:3-4 NIV)
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psa. 19:14)
I once thought God wanted quantity in our prayer life in order for it to be effective. But that’s not altogether true. We may pray eight hours straight but if we just speak a bunch of idle words from our head that we think will impress Him, then we have missed the true meaning of prayer; it’s not the quantity of words, but quality of words from our heart to Him. Its communicating on a personal level like we would talk to out dearest and closest friend. Because at the end of the day I am talking to my dearest friend, my friend with whom there is no distance in space or time that could cause our relationship to be strained.
Idle words are mere babbling and offer no relief since they come from the head and not the heart. I used to come into God’s presence with a head full of idle words. Soon my mouth got dry, I ran out of words, and if I was on my knees, they became sore, and I would shift from one knee to the other. And I would tell myself, “I’m getting nowhere fast.” As a result, I would get off my aching knees and the rest is history.
Our relationship with God exceeds any earthly relationships. He doesn’t keep a list of our naughty or nice actions like we used to tell our kids around Christmastime. He just wants to hear our voice and allow our prayer conversation to be a two-way avenue. Because you know HE always has a download of answers and directions for us. It’s impossible to have a dull conversation with Jesus. HE could hold your attention for hours.
Always know that God’s heart requires intimacy with you. That’s because He is a relational God. There is a secret place in your prayer life where without a shadow of doubt you meet with your Father. The secret place of the Most High is a place where you are in Christ. Wouldn’t you agree that being in Christ is to be in the safest hiding place? How did you get to be in Christ? By receiving the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Once you are a born-again believer, your heavenly Father sees you in Christ. You are safe, protected, and secure in the hiding place! Just talk to Him, speak from your heart, be anchored in His truth, and see yourself walking in a greater measure of His divine protection in the days to come.
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (Isa. 26:3-4 NIV)
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psa. 19:14)