Experiencing God's Presence #155

Experiencing God's Presence #155

O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.

2 Chronicles 6:40

I’ve prayed prayers that never got answered in any discernible way. So have you. Every Christian has experienced the frustration of a silent heaven. But we’ve also experienced the opposite—divine intervention that clearly answers our prayers. This diversity of experience has led to an abundance of sermons, books, and courses on how to pray effectively. The principles and techniques for what should be a relational conversation are almost endless.

Scripture gives us some simple answers to our questions about prayer. It’s a genuine, two-way conversation, and it flourishes in intimate closeness with God. If we can remember the relational nature of prayer—that it isn’t a formula or religious practice—we understand enough. We can deepen the relationship, draw closer to God, and let our hearts beat with His. Conversations grow richer and more fruitful with familiarity and affection. That’s how prayer works.

So Solomon’s request that God be attentive to the prayers made in His dwelling place is a great picture of prayer’s true meaning. When we talk with God, it must be where He dwells—in the place where we cultivate familiarity and affection, where we worship and adore Him, where the bonds of friendship and intimacy are strengthened. It must be in that place of Presence we have established.

That place is no longer a temple of stone and curtains and holy furnishings. It’s in the human heart that believes in Him, loves Him, and treasures His Presence. In other words, we can’t have a rich prayer life if we don’t have a rich sense of His Presence within us. If we want the conversation to flourish, we have to intentionally and relentlessly develop it. He is very attentive to the prayers made in that “place.”

God, I’m setting apart places within me where we can talk, where I can sit in Your Presence and soak You in. Talk with me there; hear the desires of my heart; deepen our bond in those places.