“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” James 1:5-8 MSG
Worrying my prayers. I do that all the time. Sadly. I too often pray to Him based on the earthly situation I’m in; my fears and thoughts about it. Kind of as if I’m talking to Him, but not looking at Him. I’ve been thinking of them as “throw up” prayers. Not “vomit”, mind you, ? but throwing up a worried, panic prayer here and there and hoping God catches it without truly engaging WITH Him.
It’s kinda like when someone’s talking to me on the phone, but talking to someone else in the background at the same time. Annoying! ? It makes me feel small and not truly, deeply cared for. If it hurts when people are talking to me, but it’s obvious they’re not really focusing on me, why do we think God should be any different?
God says I shouldn’t expect to have such prayers answered. They’re divided. They’re two-faced. One face trying to be spiritual, and one face occupied with the earthly. He says this makes me unstable and tossed about in everything I do. And when I think on it, it’s true! I do not feel solid spiritually when I’m praying that way. The loop of my mind gets stuck in whatever storm of the moment is about me, and tossed by the waves and winds, adrift and not anchored.
However, I do feel solid and on firm ground when I turn to actually look at Him. And engage HIM. And actually pray WITH Him in spirit instead of throwing up distracted prayers from my thoughts/imaginings here and there.
God wants us to pray out from and in faith. Faith is LOOKING at Him. SEEING Him. HEARING Him. Only Him. That’s probably why Jesus says to go into your closet to pray. I don’t think He’s talking about a physical place, but rather a spirit-place where the earthly can’t divide our attention, and where we rest in His real-time presence and gaze only on His face. Only that kind of praying truly makes Him delighted.
Throw up prayers. Worry prayers…. God is merciful and sometimes He answers that kind of praying, but mostly not. Yet, He’s wholly ready to help and give peace to the child who will climb into His soul and talk WITH Him. ?