Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. – Corrie ten Boom
There is a scene from an episode of the Andy Griffith show where Floyd, the barber, is offered the chance to take on a partner. Andy is encouraging him to take a gamble; he is swamped with business, can’t keep up with the demands, and is overwhelmed with the stress of it all. Sheriff Taylor tells him that he could have a two-chair shop. That pushes Floyd into the confidence he needed to seriously consider taking the plunge.
Then Andy says these words that not only resonate with Floyd but with me too: (don’t get carried away and watch the entire episode yet!!)
Two chairs, no waiting.
I pictured it in my mind. I have the opportunity every single day to walk into the presence of the King of Kings and take a chair right across from Him. I can talk, I can share, I can pour my heart out with needs and petitions for myself, my family, friends, the state of the country and even those on the other side of the world.
I do not have to wait.
He doesn’t push me aside, doesn’t tell me to take a number or to come back later.
He is never too busy. He is never late. He is just there.
He welcomes me in. I don’t even have to speak if I do not want to. Sometimes that is good, I need to just listen.
We call this time Prayer. It is simply conversation with God. We truly make it too difficult, too complicated and even too scary. We think we have to say certain words, others think those words have to be repeated a particular number of times.
Some believe we must be in the right position to pray;
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kneeling
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standing
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on our face
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hands folded
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hands raised
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hands outstretched
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eyes open
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eyes closed
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scream at the top of your lungs
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speak audibly
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whisper quietly
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only pray inside your thoughts
The cool thing about prayer? All of these are acceptable! There is no right or wrong way, no certain place, and no definite time that we must pray but making a habit of meeting with God at the same time every day will help you keep that appointment and not allow the day to get away from you.
We just need to pray.
Naturally, beginning your day with conversation with God is wise. He wants to hear from you and you need to hear from Him. He gives strength for each new day. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.
Ending your day with prayer is comforting, peaceful and a great way to thank God for all He has kept you from and blessed you with for the day!
Kneeling before God, if you are able, shows reverence and awe. Sometimes you are not physically able or not in a place where you can actually kneel. King David sat and prayed at times! “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18 NLT.
There may be other times when you will just stand to pray as you talk to a friend. “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Luke 18:13 NIV.
Doesn’t it get easier to share with a friend when you know them better? Talking with the Lord is the same way. The more time we spend with Him, the better we know Him and the easier it is to share. He truly is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
What do I receive for taking the time, making the time, to pray? Untold benefits!
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Peace
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Joy
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Confidence
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Strength
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Power
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Wisdom
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Direction
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Answers
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Boldness
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Patience
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Compassion
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Humility
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Forgiveness
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Relief from Anxiety
This list could be infinite. There are endless benefits to prayer and spending time with God. In the Old Testament, there were times priests or others could be killed for not approaching God the right way. Today? The veil has been torn! No longer do we need a mediator, Jesus did away with that when He died on the cross. The veil in the temple was torn in two signifying that ANYONE, EVERYONE could come before the throne without fear. You can approach God (in reverence and awe) as a friend or a Father, He is all in all.
Don’t hesitate to bring your greatest needs, your simplest thoughts and your heaviest burdens to Him.
Jesus longs to hear from you and He is saving two chairs…no waiting.
To know that simple truth…He always has time for me. The least I can do is make time for Him. Thank you so much for this great reminder. ♥
So good…we can’t let the enemy distract us from meeting with God! Thank you so much for commenting. Forgive me for being so late in responding. Blessings!
Sorry I am so late in responding friend. Thank you so much for stopping by. ♥
Thank you Nancy! Good to hear from you friend. I would LOVE to meet you too…you’ll have to remind me what state you live in again and I will let you know if we will be ministering there any time soon!! Blessings!
You are right Mary. Everyone is different and we have to do what is best for us. I used to have a terrible time praying in the mornings when my kids were younger. I was exhausted all the time. So I had to choose a different time that worked for me. Now, I am back to early mornings and love it. 🙂 The point is just to pray isn’t it? Blessings!
We love Andy Griffith too, Barney was so funny. I remember the episode about the car…I think the lady from the Waltons played the “little old lady”. Thank you for visiting!!
Grand Privilege. I loved that Sharon! He is the Comforter for sure. ♥
Thank you Lisa, He is always faithful!
Me too, Candace, I always write to myself!! It truly is an endless list. God is so good.
Thank you June! Blessings to you!
It should be inviting, you are so right Kristin. Blessings to you. ♥
Thank you so much for commenting! I love that we can come anytime. Anywhere for any reason! Blessings!
Amen. The throne room is always open, no appt. necessary. Thanks for stopping by Hazel! ♥
How about a chair reserved just for you (and me)? The throne room is always open and no appointments are needed. Thank you for sharing your awesome post with us here at “Tell Me a Story.”
I love this post. So true. Two chairs. No waiting. Blessings!
I love that mental image of two chairs and no waiting! Makes coming God so inviting, as it should be. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.
What a wonderful reminder, Nannette, thank you!
Hmmm. I’m reading a lot about prayer this morning. I think God is trying to tell me something. Love this, Nanette, especially your list of benefits. It really is an endless list! There really isn’t good, clean TV anymore like Andy Griffith :).
I love this…two chairs – no waiting!!
Two chairs, no waiting. What a precious way of expressing the reality of prayer! Yes, it is a grand privilege to be able to boldly approach the throne of God. To tell Him everything, to reveal the depths of our hearts. He is always waiting, ready to listen. Such wonderful comfort in that.
GOD BLESS!
This is a great post and I love your analogy about the two chairs. God doesn’t have a waiting room, we can come right in and sit down. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us at Good Morning Mondays. Also we really like the Andy Griffith show here although we haven’t seen too many, particularly like the one where Don Knotts (can’t remember characters name) is buying a car. Blessings
That’s great. And I love that you include so many different ways to pray. I personally cannot get up at 5am and have an hour of quiet time/prayer time/reflection/devotion. I just fall back asleep. Everyone is different and we can’t put on another what works best for us.
Awh Nannette !!! Absolutely beautiful. Holy Spirit driven were these words. Thank you for this. Your time and effort that you put into your blog. I look forward to your posts all the time!!! I can hardly wait to meet you in person someday!!!
May God bless you as you continue to blog…..because I’m learning so much from you !
Love the image of the two chairs N! Kind of really speaking to me today. Much needed. ~ B
Ah, that felt good, your words, flowing from Him. Thank you Nannette! I couldn’t agree with you more. I felt God’s presence as I read. A very good reminder to deepen our relationships, because we can! Not letting satan distract us from the one and only, with everyday problems and obligations. Our focus needs to be on Him always! Thank you for sharing this!