Tomorrow is worship! Let’s get ready for our day together by having the right “prayer attitudes”. As we continue to look at our acrostic P.R.A.Y. prayers that are filled with the right attitudes have; P-Praise, R-Repentance, A- Assurance and then, finally, Y- Yearning. Yearning is when we pray with pleading, with fervency, or passionately asking the Lord to hear our requests. “What do you want?” is the question that Jesus asked the blind man who was shouting to get Jesus’s attention! He was an example of yearning! Jesus is a perfect example to us when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane; “O God, nothing is impossible for You, nevertheless not My will but Your will be done!” He was urgent and confident that God would answer His prayer. Many of the Psalms illustrate how we exhibit yearning. Usually it starts with, “O!”, and then His title; “Lord, God,
YHWH,” etc. always follows. How much do you want your request? How deeply do you see it as being a request that is according to God’s will? Is your desire spontaneous or impulsive? Is it a request that is backed by a heart that longs for God’s intervention? Do you long for Him to fulfil a promise or provide a cure for a broken heart? Our yearning hearts must have a deep desire for God to get the glory, for His Kingdom to be influential, etc.? A yearning heart is mandatory if your objective is to get God’s ear! As we study our Bibles, we see story after story teaching this truth. Just look at how Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared. God would have spared these cities if there had been only 10 righteous souls there. Moses prayed for Israel not to be destroyed for worshipping the golden calf. Hannah prayed for a child. Nehemiah prayed for four months for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. On and on the stories show that
God loves to listen to those who are yearning, crying out, persistent, and will not stop until God answers! Do you know someone who is not yet a follower of Jesus? Pray with yearning for their salvation! As we think about our nation, lets pray for our country to make good decisions at this upcoming election. Pray for our neighbors, family, friends…for each one to find Jesus. “O! God hear our prayers and change our world for the glory of Your Son, Amen.”
