(taken from the Prayer Today website; which I discovered through
MOTIVATED BY PLEASURE
When you have had a delightfully delicious meal at an elegant restaurant no one has to twist your arm to get you to go back the second time. No one has to force you, or ask to a second time, to eat a candy bar, or go to the beach, or go on a date with the person you are in love with. You do those things again and again because you enjoyed them. Pleasure motivates us.
YOU DO WHAT YOU ENJOY DOING
Jesus often spent a whole night in prayer to God. At the outset of his ministry he spent forty days and forty nights in prayer. How did he do that? I would fall asleep sometime during the first hour. I know, I’ve tried.
The secret is not in expanding your list of prayer requests to read off to God like a shopping list, nor is it to set a marathon goal of two hours of prayer, or twelve hours of prayer. Extended times with God were possible for Jesus, and for you, when you enjoy those prayer times. You do what you enjoy doing.
HEAVEN - NOT AN EXTENDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER MEETING
So, we need to find ways to break the old stereotypes of prayer as long, boring, monologues of never-ending requests to God, about things that we have little or no interest in. If prayer is a taste of heaven, then it should be enjoyable and create a craving in us for more. How horrible if heaven turned out to be an extended Wednesday evening prayer meeting! I think even Jesus would fight to stay awake in one of those sluggish vigils.
HAPPY, ENJOYABLE, INTIMATE
How do you make prayer interesting? Do it God’s way. The Scriptures are filled with examples and admonitions toward prayer, and hardly any of them is an encouragement to spend hours listing prayer requests to God. Part of prayer is certainly asking, but that is not the substance of prayer. Prayer is a relationship to God. That relationship needs to be happy, enjoyable and intimate. Bottom line, prayer should to be enjoy God. The famous Westminster Shorter Catechism answers well the question concerning the chief end of man.
The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. It is the prime directive! It is the purpose for which we were created. It is what heaven is all about.
JUST STREETS OF GOLD?
If heaven were just mansions and streets of gold then God could have left us here on earth with those amenities. But heaven is where God is. And, as the song says, Where Jesus is, ‘tis heaven there. If we don’t enjoy God’s presence and conversation here on earth, how will we ever endure eternity in heaven?
SMOOTH, RICH, BITTER-SWEET CHOCOLATE DESSERT
What do you delight in? I delight I delight to sit by the sea and watch the waves crashing onto the shore. My wife and I can do that for hours in silent timeless wonder. It’s delightful. I delight in soaking in a hot tub when my back and neck are aching from a long day of hard labor. I delight in a deliciously prepared, well-seasoned meal at a fine restaurant with friends and good conversation, then to finish it off with a smooth, rich bitter sweet chocolate dessert and an expresso coffee.
None of these delights compares to the delight I have found in a day or few days of retreat alone with God. When prayer becomes delightful, extending it is never a problem. (continue reading article here)
To continue reading this excellent article, taken from the Prayer Today website; to take the next step deepening your relationship with God through an exciting life of delightful prayer, click HERE. On the resulting page, just click on "How to pray all day". Also available on this page: "Cross of Prayer" and "How to Pray for an hour". For the original manuscript, taken from www.prayertoday.org, click HERE
May these insights draw you closer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as together we resist our natural pull towards a dry, boring, unadventurous faith and instead decide to move deeper into a love relationship with our Creator, Saviour, Judge, Friend and Lover.
Cheers
Dan
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