Today’s 333 Devotional: “Prayer: An Honest Evaluation”

{Something to chew on}

When it comes to prayer, many wonder why our prayers go unanswered. It is at this point that we need to take an honest evaluation of our prayers and prayer life.

Are we praying in accordance with God’s will, or our own will? What are God’s promises as found in His word? Do they apply, or are we changing them to fit our need?

Are we asking the Father in Jesus’s name and all that entails, knowing the promise Jesus gave and what His name represents, or are we just saying a name because we are told we need to pray in Jesus’s name?

Are we praying in faith, praying believing in what God has said and standing firm on His word, character, and nature, or is our faith in prayer, or saying the right words, or the same words over and over again?

Are we praying for God’s kingdom to come and repenting of our ways, or are we praying for our kingdom to be established where we get what we want the way we want it?

Are we tired of praying and asking God, or are we persistently coming to God’s throne of grace to receive His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need?

Are we praying to God? This might seem like a no-brainer, but do we have the Lord God clearly in focus, or are we praying to the gods of our own making, the idols we’ve set up in our lives that we give audience to every day.

Are we still harboring sin in our lives that we are unwilling to give up? When we harbor sin; the Lord does not hear our prayers. Consider Psalm 66:18 saying, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear,” or Isaiah 59:2 that says our iniquities separate us from God; and because of our sins He hides His face and will not hear our prayers.