"Beware of scribes, who...for appearance's sake offer long prayers." Jesus - Luke 20:46-47
The season for planning and preparing for the National Day of Prayer has arrived. Prayer meetings will be held all over our nation. Begin praying that these events will spend more time praying to God than talking to the wrong audience.
Jesus warned His disciples of pious posers who misused prayer to appear to be closer to God in public than they were in private.
NOTE TO SELF: Don't be one of them. When called upon to pray in public, don't presume to preach or pause to pose. PRAY!
Your assignment to pray in public is a divine appointment to have a personal conversation with Almighty God. Know your audience.
Don't put God on hold, by wasting one moment of your breath, talking to the wrong audience about yourself, your ministry, your church, or field testing your next comedy routine. Get with God.
When invited to pray at a public meeting, don't beat your own drum. Sound a trumpet. PRAY!
Prayer is the exclamation point of a prayer meeting. It is not an afterthought. Your prayer is not an appetizer or an after dinner mint. It is the main course. Treat it like meat and meet with God.
Prayer turns the spotlight away from you, and focuses it on God. Stealing His glory is very revealing. It tells people more about yourself than you want them to know. It reveals a rebel's heart.
Running on about yourself at the mic is a poor substitute for running to God.
RUN TO THE FATHER, BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, IN THE NAME OF JESUS! Pray for the NEXT Great Awakening.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!