The Privilege of Prayer

“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
-King David  (Psalms 34:15)
 
There are some out there who would faint out of excitement if they had a chance to speak to a popular figure or celebrity.  The Presidents of the United States have been known to contact certain military and veterans to thank them for their service on military memorial holidays. These military personnel and veterans would consider this a tremendous privilege to speak to the Commander-in-Chief. The story would be told to their children and their grandchildren of how the President himself called them and they spoke to them. What a privilege!

Yet, as Christians, we fail to realize that we have a privilege that is far more tremendous than speaking with the President of the United States. We have the privilege of speaking with the very Creator of all things via prayer. We have a direct line into the throne room of God. A direct line to the "command center" or "headquarters."  When we truly realize who it is that we are praying to, it would humble us and cause to rejoice in such a privilege.

Prayer is a direct line to Almighty God. As a saint once said, “It is the rope that is pulled to ring the bell in the throne room of heaven.”  That is, to pray to God anywhere, anytime is not some “right” we have earned. The opportunity and ability to pray to God is a privilege provided out of the grace of God.  It is a gift to pray. Not some sort of self-earned right but a God-given right.

This is something to contemplate: Almighty God has given us an opportunity to seek His presence and vent into His ear by prayer at anytime.  This opportunity costs us nothing but the breath we use to expel the words, the mental focus, and spiritual stamina.  Yet, it is said that the majority of Christians breathe about a 4 minute prayer a day and run on into their day neglecting and ignoring the great privilege God has given.  No time is taken for a personal encounter with the living God. Much time is spent preparing our physical appearance and breakfast for the physical body, but no preparation is given to the spiritual man within.

Prayer cost us nothing but devoting ourselves to a conversation with God at any time in any place.  The ability and opportunity to pray cost us nothing but it cost the agony, suffering, and death of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  When Jesus was crucified, a supernatural earthquake tore the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple (Matthew 27:51). This symbolized the spiritual wall that stood between God and man because of sin since the fall of man in Eden (Genesis 3).  One significant detail concerning the veil being torn was that it was torn “top to bottom.” God Himself tore the veil. 

Sin separated us from God but Christ offered Himself on behalf of the sin of the world as payment. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt in full. By doing so, He gave man the ability to be reconciled to God through trust and saving faith in the perfect work of Christ.  We no longer have to appear in a temple to properly pray to God but we have the privilege to pray in our living rooms, at our workplace, in our schools, etc. Wherever we are, we can pray.

 As Psalms 34:15 reflects above, “the ears are open unto their cry.” Whose cry? The righteous. What makes us righteous? Faith in the perfect work of Christ (Romans 3:22).
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Because of this God-given privilege, throughout the day, when a gift of good comes to us, we can bow silently praising and thanking God for His gracious provision.  When evil attacks, we can pray against the blows of the enemy hiding in the bunker of Jesus Christ.  When someone requests prayer, we can stop there and pray with them placing their requests in the hand of the God of power.  As we are driving, we can simply be having a conversation with God building a relationship with the same one who hung the sun, moon, and stars in their place.

The point is: prayer is a privilege.  Wasn’t it a privilege as a child for a respected adult to stop their busyness to simply sit down and hear what we had to say?  What a joy it was for us as children for the “heroes” of our lives to be interested in us.

Let it be known to all who read this blog that God is interested in you. So interested that He moved every obstacle out of the way so we could be reconciled to Him. He created us to enjoy us and for us to enjoy Him in a real, tangible relationship. Prayer is how we break through the material realm into the spiritual realm and feel a spiritual God.
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I challenge you to start enjoying this privilege by setting aside 20-30 minutes in the morning before beginning your day to silently read His word and pour your heart to Him in prayer.  Do it daily and be prepared to be amazed at what happens.