Praying for Stuff, part three

Psalm 73:9 

“Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.”

Prayer is easy. It’s not what you think. You don’t have to learn a Christian vocabulary in order to make God do what you want. Prayer isn’t about the struggle of getting God to do something. It’s the struggle of getting us to do what God wants.

Prayer is the communication of a parent and child. I came to this realization because I’m a parent. I’ve tried to be a good parent. My children have been raised to believe that they will be corrected and given appropriate consequences for their bad decisions and attitudes. I haven’t let them grow up thinking they can have anything they want and can do anything they want.

Psalm 73:9 is a description of the arrogant. They need correction because they think there is no consequence for their evil. This verse follows:

Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”

Prayer isn’t about getting. It’s about getting to know someone. Those who say, “How would God know?” don’t realize God’s listening.

Have you ever spoken about someone and then realized they were in the room. You realized that when they said, “I can hear you.” I think it would freak out people who use God’s name in vain if God would respond in their hearing, “I can hear you.”  

When you’re looking for stuff to add to your prayer list, consider asking God to grant repentance to those around you who fit the description of the arrogant. You know who they are. They’re the ones with the bad attitudes. According to Psalm 73:8, they “scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.”

When you see the arrogant around you amassing their wealth and living like no consequence will ever affect them, remember to stay humble. Stay in communication with God, and stay obedient to him. He may ask you to speak to the arrogant, using helpful words.