Praying from the heart!

This Monday morning, with sweet memories lingering in my heart from a lovely Mother's Day yesterday, I want to sing -- "I am blessed!  I am blessed!  Every day that I live I am blessed!  When I wake up in the morning until I lay my head to rest, I am blessed!  I am blessed!"

As we begin a new week of living for Jesus, let us turn our thoughts to a most interesting little verse in Lamentations 3:41 -- "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."  What a challenging verse in these days that seem to be filled with the cares of life.  It is very easy, if we are not careful, to let our prayers become routine and repetitious.  We need to remember that our Heavenly Father listens more closely to our hearts than the words from our lips.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:7-8 --
     "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him."

We can pray in many different positions -- some lift their hands -- some prostrate themselves on the ground -- some stand -- some kneel -- some shout -- some pray silently -- some pray eloquently -- but the thing that counts far more than posture or eloquence is our attitude of heart!  If we want God to hear from heaven, then we must lift our hearts to Him, not just our hands or our voices!  We need to feel as the Psalmist felt in Psalm 42:1 -- "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God."  And I like the verse in Hebrews 10:22 --
     "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith."

Our prayers must also come from a believing heart, for we read in the 1st chapter of James -- "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering."  What a blessed privilege to come boldly unto the throne of grace -- to lift up our heart with our hands unto God whose ear is Always open to our cry, and to know that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  And one of my favorite verses, which has been a wonderful encouragement and comfort to my heart many times, is Jeremiah 33:3 -- "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou
              knowest not."

And don't forget -- "If your day is hemmed with prayer, it will be less likely to unravel."