John Wesley once said, "Prayer is the lifting up of the heart to God: All words of prayer, without this, are mere hypocrisy."*
In the season of Lent, one of the key practices we are to be about is prayer, but according to this, it's not the words of prayer that are important, nor even the length of prayer, but the reason for our praying. It's the heart of the matter, literally.
I don't know about you, but I needed to hear that. I, too, often get distracted in my own prayers and their purpose. I mean, I know why I pray, but the question is, "is it for the right reason?" When we lift up our prayers is it just our desires for God to work, or some kind of balm for our own soul that says we believe God might just hear us and maybe answer?
Or is it as it should be, to lay bare my heart to God?
This Lenten Season my task is simple, to dig deep in to my own soul and reveal whatever I find to a God who is longing for it, and ready to salve whatever pain it costs. Because the goal of Lent is to prepare ourselves to fully embrace the resurrection, which means we need to fully embrace God who fully embraces us....no matter what.
So, dig deep and open up!
Peace ><>
pc
*Day 1 of 40 Days of Wesley: Sermon #26 Upon the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Discourse 6.
Day 2 of 40 Days of Wesley: Sermon #48 Self-Denial
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