Weekly Devotional: Gems from Pastor Jim 7/26/2021

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by Jim Hughes

CrossMatt. 6:6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.”

Jesus is speaking out strongly against showing off our religion. He is making it very clear that a person of genuine faith does not need to promote it or broadcast it. Genuine faith shows naturally through the way we live and speak.

We like to be around people who really know how to pray. There is just something that seems to set them apart from us. We equate how they pray with the godliness of their hearts. What we don’t often consider is that how a person prays doesn’t always tell the true story of their heart. Just like people can imitate faith without being saved, people can imitate prayer without being right with God, or even saved.

Jesus here emphasizes the importance of private prayer. When we pray when no one is around, it is noticed by God. God hears us when we pray from a genuine heart, no matter who may, or may not, hear us when we pray. In fact, there is great value in prayer without words. We can be surrounded by a great host of people and pray without anyone knowing it. The Lord listens to the heart more than He does the words.

Words sometimes simply fail us. There are times when we don’t know what to say or how to say it. But, the Lord knows. When we lift our hearts to Him without words, He hears us and answers our prayers. Reach out to the Lord and He will reach out to you. Don’t pray to be heard by man; pray to be heard by God. If others hear you when you pray and join you as you pray, it is good. It is also good if only you and God hear you when you pray.

About the Author:

Jim Hughes

Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.

C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chapter on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one’s self from such failures.

I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn’t broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.

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