Having a Kingdom Attitude 16

There is plenty of statistics found from secular university research that proves that prayers, chatting, yoga, and various forms of meditation can lower one's blood pressure and provide a person a less stressful life. While having a prayer life is note-worthy, I believe that for most who participate in religious activities, their prayer life has become a very stressful activity. If prayer is not properly understood and practiced, then the outcome can be more harmful to the body than good. In Matthew 6:9-15 & Luke 11:2-4, Jesus gives His disciples a glimpse of what a healthy prayer looks like. God has made prayer to be the "spiritual DNA" for the life of a Christian. Just as the composition of DNA consist of two long polymers called nucleotides, jointed together by smaller strains called ester bonds; so too prayer is main up of two main strains held together by six components. If these strains are missing, compromised, or not complete, then our prayer life will have major problems. In these verses we see that the two main strains of a healthy prayer are: Seeking only to Honor God (6:9-10) and Seeking only to Depend on God (6:11-15).

In the first strain we have three components: We pray in order to honor God's name, His kingdom, and His will. If your prayer request is missing one or all three, then you are praying a prayer that is not pleasing to God; simply put, it is a sick prayer. Every time we get on our face before God, our desire should be that every petition and request bring only honor to God's name, His kingdom, and be in line with His will for our lives. In the second strain, we too have three more components: We depend on God for our physical needs, for His forgiveness of personal sin, and His protection from prevailing evil. A healthy prayer is one that focuses on our dependence on God, not on what I can get out of God. My desire as a Christians should be to rely completely on God to take care of my personal needs. Humble myself to always seek God's forgiveness for my sin. Recognize my frailty and God's sovereignty over all, and call God's attention to keep my heart always focus on His way for my life. As a Christian, if my prayer life is healthy, then I will live a less stressed life in this world. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.