Our Journey Home series
Youtube: The Prayer of Knowing
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:7-8
As we read this passage, there are two points that can help with our understanding of prayer. The first point is that prayer does not require many words. Prayer is a mindset, a mental and emotional process of releasing our reaction to negative appearances and affirming that greater good is unfolding.
The second point is a bit more subtle. Jesus does not say that your Father knows what you want. He says your Father knows what you need. There is often a difference between what we want and what may actually provide the greatest advances in our journey home.
We may, for example, be asking God for help in dealing with some obnoxious personality in our life. We want them to just go away. What we need, however, is the insight to rise above our negative reaction to this person. Why am I giving them power to control my thoughts and emotions? Why am I giving them power to make me feel as if I must defend myself?
Jesus would say that your Father knows what you need before you ask because your Father is your spiritual source that knows nothing but freedom. It stands to reason that your Father knows what you are doing to block the free expression of spirit. Its primary interest is freeing you from the consequences of that blockage. It is similar to building a small dam in a stream. You can stop the flow of water for a time, but the blockage will eventually be removed by the natural action of the water.
Carry your prayer throughout your day, not in words but in the attitude that the best and highest is now working through you. Add to your stated desire the understanding that that which you need is now being made clear. You know what to do, and you do it.