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Prayer - something all Christians are meant to do..."without ceasing" - these two words enough to create instant performance anxiety!
But I read this passage in 'The Message' version and there were two phrases that really connected with me that I think bring us back to the heart of what prayer is meant to be about.
6:6 "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage."
So you won't be tempted to role-play before God...
We can be so easily tempted to pray with words, phrases, formulas & tones that sound impressive but don't reflect the actual nature of our heart - God isn't interested in our best "spiritual" front, what gets God's ear is us expressing our thoughts, fears, feelings and hopes with simplicity and honesty. C.S. Lewis counsels us to “lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”
Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage...
The invitation to relax & be - not perform.
Richard Foster captures this in his thought that “Prayer is an enduring, continuing, growing relationship with the great God of the universe.”
That as we talk with Him - simply and honestly "the focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace." Grace that enables us to position our hearts and genuinely be able to say "Your kingdom come", Your way - in and through me.
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