Jesus speaking the Sermon on the Mount in Matt 6:5-8:“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."
Think about the last time you were in a public place and someone gave a wonderful prayer that you really appreciated and felt was so powerful and spiritually moving. We might say of that person that they have a gift of words in prayer. Perhaps a moving public prayer is a good gift to be shared. But our most intimate and valuable prayers of relationship with God are given in private, just between the two of us. In those moments the heart speaks more eloquently, purely, and concisely than the tongue. Any time that we attempt to pray to God with the words of our human language, we fall short. Yet we should continue to use them. Words are what we have, so we should use them to intentionally express our hearts to God and engage in conversation as we know how.
1 Cor 14:15 - "So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind."God will in turn speak through our consciences and the part of our hearts that are most honest, humble, and pure. He will reach those parts of us by numerous methods. And we can respond with our feeble words, realizing that God is also hearing our hearts and souls at the very same time. (v.8 "...For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.")
When our words match our hearts, though they may be cumbersome, inadequate and slow, I believe this honesty, transparency and genuineness pleases Him. Perhaps as a lead note is struck or sung with a perfect harmony--your heart is the melody and your spoken words complete the harmony that is pleasing to his ears. But there is even more power in the melody that our human ears cannot hear:
Rom 8:26-27:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
It turns out that by engaging in sincere communion and prayer with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ, the truest melody is being offered by the Holy Spirit within us. Whatever we can muster to chime in ourselves, the sound is pleasing to our Father's ears and the aroma as pleasing as incense:
Psalm 141:2: "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."
Rev 5:8 - "And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints"
Open up in prayer tonight. Open up right now. Search your heart and speak it, and let the Spirit intercede for you. May your prayers of sacrifice be like sweet incense and your faithful heart be a pleasing harmony with the Spirit's melody.
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