The Hands that Pray
When you pray, do not do as the pagans do. With their many words they seek to impress; yet when you pray, do so in secret as your Father is in secret. (Paraphrase of Matthew 6)
Your hands were made by God as you were so when you pray take note of them.
Your thumb is the nearest finger to you when you pray. So, begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the people who are the easiest to remember.
The next finger on your hand is the pointing finger. Pray for those who are teachers or who instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need our support, and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction, so keep them in your prayers.
Next is your tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president regardless of who you voted for, and then pray for leaders in business and industry and administrators. All of these people shape our nation and guide public opinion and they need God’s guidance.
The fourth finger is your ring finger. It is usually the weakest finger as most piano teachers will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need our prayers day and night. You can’t pray enough for them.
Last is your little finger, it is the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. The Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie finger should remind you to pray for yourself because by the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your needs will be in their proper perspective and you will be able to pray more effectively.
Once you have prayed for all the others, your perspective will place you in a humble position to be more of a servant as Christ uses you for His purposes.
Our God is awesome and the mechanics in our bodies that work together so that we can walk is amazing. But, there are many people who don’t look at it that way. They see us as natural humans which evolved from apes because they can do the same things that we do. Except, apes can’t talk or reason out arguments, they are animals and they work from instinct and nothing more. God did not make us like them; He made us in His image period!
In Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth along with the sun and the moon. Then He made the animals in the sea and those that live on the land. He made the stars to show seasons and times as well as all the birds and the insects, and then before He rested from His work He made man. God formed mankind from the earth as a potter does when he is creating a pot, but God breathed the breath of Life into the man and gave him dominion over the earth.
As Christ reminded His followers not to pray as the teachers of the Law did and also not to pray as heathens do by vain repetition. Come to God with a humble spirit and one that is broken toward the sin that you have committed, because we all sin and there is no person who has been sinless except Christ.
Our prayer life should start our days and go with us through the day and end the day because we cannot make it without guidance from God. There are those who say that we can and some do, but in the service of our Lord, doing it on our own is not a good practice. We won’t be as effective and we won’t enjoy the close relationship with Him until our prayer life is in synch with Him daily.
Prayer was such an integral part of Jesus’ life during His ministry that He would go away by Himself to pray. Sometimes at the morning hour and sometimes in the night, but He always made time for it regardless of where He was or what may have been happening. In the Old Testament, the prophets prayed many times, as well as David during the time before becoming king of Israel.
The prayer life of Moses was shown numerous times during the journey through the desert toward the Promised Land. He prayed many times to keep God from turning His anger loose on the people of Israel.
Your prayers are an important line of communication between you and God. Even though He knows what you need, He still likes to hear from you, but also you need to listen for His answer or just for His voice as well. Many people use prayer as a request line and that’s all. Then they get frustrated and angry if they don’t get the answer that they wanted, when they want it.
Prayer doesn’t work that way and wasn’t supposed to. It is a way for you to praise God for Who He is and what He has done in your life. It is also a way for you to ask for forgiveness for sins you commit, unintentional though they may be, since we all sin on a daily basis. God’s forgiveness and His grace flows freely toward those who are humble enough to admit their failures and weaknesses.
When we intercede for someone else, we are carrying on a tradition of prayer that goes as far back as Abraham and Noah in the book of Genesis. Praying for those who may have hurt or angered you is the best way to show, even if they don’t know it, that the love of Christ is in your heart. Christ loves us as the Church that He began during His ministry and the Spirit continually groans for each of us so that our needs and wants are known even before we voice them.
God loves us, all of us, sinners and saints together. Admitting that to ourselves and to Him is something that we can do through our prayers; it is something that we must do in order to be His children. Sinners who truly need Him in their lives have to pray in order to ask Him to come in. That is all that is required of us to begin with.
The simplicity of that fact is the reason that many have expressed to me why they have not given their lives to Jesus. They just can’t believe that it is that simple, that there is more to it than that. It is that simple because even a child can pray in faith that Jesus will come into their hearts and He will. The faith that we must have is the faith of a child, not a seasoned adult that questions everything. Pour out your heart and your needs to God and He will pour Himself into your heart and make you whole. Because, until that part of you is filled with what is supposed to be there, you will try to fill it with many things that just don’t fit.
Prayer is the only communication line that can’t be broken or without signal because God always hears your prayers regardless of where you may be. All that we have to do is listen to Him because He always hears us, when we pray.
