Jeremiah 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.”
The proper attitude in prayer is to come to the Potter as clay with the recognition that we have no rights or merits before Him to claim anything based on self and that He has the right to do with us as He will. It is to come before Him asking for Him to make us into instruments of His glory because we cannot do that of ourselves. We don’t have the power or the wisdom to do such a high and lofty work. The Scriptures tell us that all true believers are new creatures in Christ and that each believer is a work of His creation, which should inform us that this is something God does and not we ourselves. This attitude toward God and self includes a bowing of the rights over self and submitting to the King of kings who has all rights over us. It is a humble submission in bowing to Him and His wisdom in determining all things for self.
An example of a good and proper attitude in prayer can be seen in Daniel’s prayer is chapter 9 of Daniel.
3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 “Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 15 “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day– we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 “O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Daniel saw his sin and the sin of the people. In light of that, he knew that he had no other name to plead and no other reason to present to God other than the name of God and the glory of God. This is an example of a man whose heart had been delivered from self-love to a great degree and his prayer was focused on his real love and that was the glory of God. Daniel saw that all the blame was on himself and the people because of their sin and disobedience, but that did not stop him from seeking the Lord based on who the Lord is. Why should God answer the prayers of a sinful man who prayed for a sinful person? It is because those people bore the name of God and for His own glory He could answer prayers lifted up in His name.
We need to seek the Lord for a heart and love like Daniel’s as opposed to just repeating the words of Daniel. True prayer must come from the heart and not just be words repeated. Daniel spent time in the furnace of affliction, in a lion’s den, and in much prayer. His prayers were from the heart and he really prayed to God for the sake of the name of God. The modern day will know nothing of the power of prayer with the living God until it repents of the sinful practices it uses to manipulate God and learns to bow to God out of love for Him and His name. This is to say that until we die to self and learn from the heart to pray for the glory of God, our prayers will be nothing but words and more words. True prayer is not a method, it is from a heart that God breaks and then teaches.
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