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PRAYING ARIGHT- 3

Text: James 4:3 

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

We have considered two contents of the protocol that are required for effective Praying. Today, we shall be looking at the last one.

The three required protocols in praying aright are:

1. Knowing Who You Pray To:

2. Praise, Thanksgiving and Worship.

3. A broken and a contrite heart.

The Psalmist says: *The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.* (Psalms  51:17). While the three contents of praying protocols are highly effective; either as combination or in unit, the most powerful and potent of the three is a broken and contrite heart. *God may despise many things, but a broken and contrite heart will He not despise.* 

King David knew this secret about accessing God's presence. He was a man with a broken and contrite heart. Hence, Prophet Samuel called him 'a man after the Lord's heart' (1Samuel 13:14). David as a shepherd and as a king was always quick to repent and turn from his sin and error. He was a vulnerable man before the Lord. 

He committed adultery and murder at the same time. But at the slightest disclosure of his sins, he quickly turned to God for forgiveness. (2King 12:1-12). 

A broken and contrite heart is a heart that is easily pricked and broken towards genuine repentance.

I have heard teachings saying that you don't have to be approaching God's presence asking for forgiveness of sin all the time. This statement may be true in the sense that forgiveness must not be asked from God as a mere routinal religious practice. Rather, genuine forgiveness must be asked for on the basis of daily revelation of God's truth in your heart, either in the place of prayer or study. 

The closer you get to God, the more He reveals areas of your life that needs His prunning. He does this by revealing areas you need to work upon to you during personal or corporate worship. By so doing, He continuously perfects you on daily basis. (John 15:1-3).

When you come into God's presence with a broken and a contrite heart, you cannot miss the face of God. 

See the parable of Jesus about the two persons that came to God in prayer in Luke 18:9-14. This parable perfectly depicts attitudes in the place of prayer. The man with a broken and a contrite heart went home justified.

BIBLE READING:Luke 18:9-14

 *PRAYER FOCUS* 

1.) Father Lord, help me to always come into your presence with a broken and a contrite heart.

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