Your own Jesus

Matthew 6: 5

5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

This passage highlights several different aspects of prayer, but it revels so much about our relationship with Christ.

To start off, how often do we see just that? People who put on a great show, but do not follow through with their actions. They work so hard to make sure that everyone notices how "great” of a Christian they are. Yet there is no substance behind them. God does not care how big of a production you put on. It does not make any difference to him if you are a great speaker. There is no need to ramble on filling the air, he knows your needs needs. In Isaiah chapter 65 he tells us that before we call he will answer, while we are still speaking he will hear.

What it all comes down to is your relationship with Christ. You have to start on the inside. So many are quick to jump right in head long, wanting to help others, wanting to get active in the Church, but they do not take the time do the most basic thing we should all do; which is fit the Lord into our daily life first. How many Christians take the time to pray daily? How often is the Bible read in the home? These are the things that cultivate the relationship. Without them it is easy to get caught up in the production that so many want to put on. They get so caught up they forget what the whole point was. What you end up with is people putting on a good show, but not really knowing why.

You have to have the basics; you have to know what the Lord means to you before you can share it with someone else. Everyone wants to do the good works, and that is a great thing, but recognition from peers in the church or your community is no reason to do it, if you cannot see the reasoning behind the acts then they are meaningless. So take the time to pray, read the Bible, don't depend on the book report on Sunday, read it for yourself, think of how the scriptures apply to your life today. Spend time reflecting on how the Lord moves in your life, he is there every day with you. Then you can easily see him at work in others. It starts on the inside and works its way out.

Peace,

Rev. T