Unwholesome Prayers

"Until we get our hearts out of the world, how easily our hearts are carried away with the thoughts of earthly concerns... The flesh introduces, and our carnal hearts insert and interlace our prayers with vain thoughts and earthly distractions... Therefore, we should always labour to get our hearts above the world into the presemce of God, as if we were by him in heaven, and wholly swallowed up with his glory. Though our bodies are on earth, our spirits should be in heaven. Until we get above the mists of the world, we can see nothing of clearness and comfort; but when we can get God and our hearts together, then we can see there is much in the fountain, though nothing in the stream; and though little on earth, yet we have a God in heaven...chiefly we should ask spiritual and heavenly things: 'But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and al these things will be added to you.' Matt 6:33...In every prayer we should seek to be made more heavenly minded by conversing with our heavenly Father." ~Thomas Manton, Works, 1:60-62

As I am sure we have all endeavored to be, at one time or another (or many times in our past) prayer warriors, we have to become so first in our own matters if we want to invest prayers in other peoples matters. I have been trying to take tighter reins on my own prayer life and have been reading up on the "ways to pray." As I look at the prayers of those recorded in scripture and of Jesus, I am learning more and more of how selfish and worldly my prayers have been. Discouraging yes, but to be honest, I think we all fall subject to the issue. After all, we are all sinners and so it only makes sense that our prayer would fall victim to that sin as well. I share this because if you, like me, struggle with prayer as a weak point in your walk, I find it helps when someone points out an area you might be in need of improvement or betterment. This is one area we may not be given much needed advise in because much of our prayer life is done intimately and in secret, and rightly so... but we still need to take a look at how we are presenting our petitions to the Lord and what those petitions should look like and they should contain. Our heavenly Father knows what we need and want... do we really need to pray for direction over discernment? Should we pray for the Lord to bring frinds into our lives over contentment in Him? These are questions I have thought over in the past month or so... and in turn, find myself praying for more of His qualities for myself rather than for worldly things. It really does help to refocus every now and then and to take stock of your prayer requests. Perhaps writing down the things you have been praying for as of late would help to determine if you, like me, need to be more rooted in heavenly things through your petitions to the Lord.
I hope this may be of some encouragement to those who feel as I do about their prayer life. I also hope that you will be blessed in your efforts to draw nearer to the Cross through a renewed view of those intimate petitions which you lay at His feet, Who has the power to change us from the inside!
~A thankful sinner... and believer of Christ.
LL