Prayer As Privilege
Communicating with Almighty God is an incredible privilege. Even more amazing, it makes the Lord happy that we communicate with Him (Prov 15:8, CEV). The Lord longs to have us fellowship with Him in prayer (Jer 7:13, ASB). He earnestly wants us to enjoy our time with Him (Ps 37:4, CEB). He desires for us to expectantly listen to Him (Ps 5:3, NET) so we can fit into His plans (1 Jn 5:14, Voice) and experience great joy in our time of conversing with Him (Isa 56:7). Prayer is an enormous privilege.
It has been said that prayer is communication with God. It is asking for help, as Lincoln did, when he pleaded with the Almighty for victory at Gettysburg. It is seeking for guidance as was true of Reagan asking that he would act in accordance with God’s will (D’Souza, Ronald Reagan, p 214). It is getting aligned with the Lord’s plan.
Prayer is also hearing from the Lord. Such hearing may take place through our having a sweet peace about a request we made or comfort through the moving words of someone who is praying for us. Prayer is communicating with the Almighty, who is our Lord. It should move us. If we say we are frequently touching the Lord but are not moved, perhaps we are not really touching Him or not connecting with Him as much as we think. This is not to say we seek after emotional displays. Yet, having such displays or witnessing them in others should not embarrass us. We stand by Him. If we are humble, it cannot help but to at least occasionally impact us to be allowed such a privilege.
Comforting others is costly but worth it.