Two ways to pray that magnify our fellowship with God (from Psalm 66)
If you want to revamp your prayers into a more intimate conversation with God, Psalm 66:16-20 (NLT) offers powerful guidance.
This section of Scripture begins with: “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.”
First, the psalmist says it’s okay to cry out to the Lord (see Psalm 77 for what intense supplication looks like). But the second half of this sentence is what caught my attention: “praising him as I spoke.” Crying out and praise are coupled together.
Yes, we can (and should) do both, even at the same time! Looking back, some of my most intimate moments with the Lord were when I pleaded with him and praised him in the same breath.
The remaining verses in this passage add a second way to build on our relationship with the Father: “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.”
“He paid attention to my prayer.” Why would the psalmist say this, since God knows what we’re going to pray even before we utter the first word? Doesn’t he always hear us?
Of course he does. The emphasis here is not on how to get God’s attention, but on our confession, and how it draws God near with sweet, ready forgiveness. It also intensifies our fellowship with him. “Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (James 4:8).
So, as we pray, let’s not just rattle off the same old words we’ve said before. Let’s thank him, praise him in the middle of our pleas, and confess our sins.
This loving God we pray to won’t just hear us, he’ll draw us ever deeper into him.
Praising him,
Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
LinkedIn profile | My books
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