The Altar of my Heart‏

Dearest Ones,

How does Jesus want us to pray? All prayer from the heart pleases Jesus. It's not as important to find words in our prayers, as it is to clear our hearts of all unforgiveness and hatred. The minute we start to pray I like to think of God having His ear on our lips - He doesn't want to miss a single word. We don't have to wonder if He hears us. The Bible tells to "Pray without ceasing" throughout the day. What does that really mean? How can we pray always? It means to talk to Jesus about everything. It means to invite him to do everything with you. If you are driving somewhere, say, "Jesus, will you come with me?" If you are going to write a letter, ask Him what to include. Invite Him to lunch with you. If reading a book, ask Jesus to be with you. It seems like the end of the world when we find our prayers unanswered. I have had this experience, as I'm sure you have also. It helped me to read the following in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 22: "One day God called Abraham and said, 'Take with you your only son Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah; and there offer him as a sacrifice on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you.' " What an awful thing God asked him to do? Although it nearly tore his heart out, Abraham obeyed because he loved God. He chopped the wood for the fire and took his son up the mountain, as God had asked. He tied Isaac onto the altar and began to light the fire but just then, an angel appeared, grabbed his arm and said, "Abraham, do not harm your son. God has seen that you love him more than anything, and you were willing to give your only son to Him. This was a test of your love." God needed to know Abraham was willing to trust Him. When God does not answer my prayers, I find myself saying, Okay, God, so what's the deal? I believe and have faith in you. I've studied your word. What do you want? Why, why won't you answer my prayer? Maybe you have felt this way, too. It has helped me to do what Abraham did - lay the situation on the altar of my heart and give the outcome totally and completely to Jesus. This is very hard to do, but what a relief it is! If He wishes to smash to pieces all my plans, that's OK. He knows what's best for me. When someone asks me to pray for a loved one, I put that person on the altar of my heart and then ask Jesus to do what He thinks best, leaving it all up to Him. An altar is a place for sacrifice - where one offers something dear to them. Sometimes, my altar gets pretty cluttered with all the problems and requests for prayers, but nothing is too big for God to handle. What a wonderful peaceful feeling it is to surrender the problem completely to God! Do you have an "Isaac" (something very dear to you) that God is asking you to offer up on the altar of your heart? Don't be afraid to put your "Isaac" on your altar because God is in charge. It may be your job, your family, your health or some other impossible situation. Sooner or later, we will all be asked to surrender our "Isaac," something very dear and precious to us. Are you ready? Remember, it was after Abraham surrendered his son and gave him to God that his son was saved. God asks us to surrender first and then leave the outcome to Him. Leave the problem in our Lord's hands. It's less stressful not to be in charge. God knows best!

With peace and love,
Sister Francelle