George MacDonald Said ...

What if He knows Prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God's idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need - the need of Himself? Hunger may drive the runaway child home, and he may or may not be fed at once, but he needs his mother more than he needs his dinner. Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other need: prayer is the beginning of that communion, and some is is the motive of that prayer. So begins a communion, a talking with God, a coming-to-one with Him, which is the sole end of prayer.

Prayer

I'm reading, Larry Crabb's latest, The Papa Prayer, and wow, it's good. I love anything he writes, so I'm loving this. What he says about prayer, I've felt forever, and so what he's saying is hopeful. I've always been kind of doubter when it comes to prayer, at least in some respects. Do I doubt God heals, that he hears us and answers us, no ... not really, not anymore than anyone else. Do I believe that God is obliged to act a particular way or do a particular thing, because I've followed the prayer rules or prayer principles? No, I don't believe that either. The issue is, what is God's agenda with prayer, and what is ours? Often, ours is simply to get things from Him, or get him to do things for us, or those we love. That's the rub, because what we want is rarely lined up with what he wants, and that's why I'm liking the Papa Prayer. It brings us back to the purpose of prayer, which is, to know God, to relate to Him, not use him to get things or arrange life to suit us. The thing Crabb talks about that hits home is, that we rarely relate to God through prayer, enjoy Him, just spend time with him. We've always got "business" to do with God, whether it is trying to get him to fix a problem or fix someone elses problems, or, to tell him we're mad cause he hasn't. Crabb raises the question, what if the point of prayer was relationship and relating, not getting things from him, or getting him to do things for us. Important things to ponder.