When I first started attending the Church of God, I had read certain, books and articles pertaining to the Sabbath, Holy Days and baptism, and the latter one, was first and foremost on my mind.  Then after a request for a visit from the local minister I was asked the question, "Have you been praying thirty minutes a day?" And I replied "NO". His question really did surprise me, for I had read no place in the Bible where you had to pray thirty minutes a day in order to be baptized!  I knew I had spent heart felt, and earnest time in prayer, but not clocked myself.  Then a whole new attitude toward prayer took place. I would pray, look at the clock and pray some more until thirty minutes had been "punched" in on the time clock. 

         

King Solomon, perhaps as no other man, understood the futility, uselessness and emptiness of so many human endeavors as he wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes centuries ago. "Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity," so he wrote.  Solomon seemed to realize that one of the greatest of human inclination was to become intensely involved in activities which over the long run produces no tangible, lasting result.  When we stop and analyze it, futility can often exist in religion  as well.  Without realizing it, a worshipper can sometimes slide into religious habits which are meaningless as far as God is concerned. Mindlessly repeating the same prayers, meditating for hours daily, or perhaps making so many laps around the beads, as my co-worker puts it.  All this represents vain and misdirected forms of worship.

 

THE TOOL

 

Prayer should be used as a tool to help in the accomplishment of God's will or His Work.  A Christian can some times allow prayer to become and end in itself. He shouldn't worry about if he has logged a sufficient amount of time on his knees, whether he is praying in the proper position, or carefully gauge how much physical effort he has expended in the process.  God has given us permission to "Boldly come before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."  Under certain circumstances prayer can often become a meaningless daily ritual little removed from the "vain repetitions" that Christ warned against in Matthew 6:7.  Another good example :of this is the Pharisee in Luke 18:11-12.

 

PUTTING FORTH EFFORT

 

For many of us, anything that is new or different, doesn't usually come easy. We must put forth effort in order to get some type of meaningful results.  Whether it be fifteen minutes or several hours, God knows our thoughts and intents. The Publican in Luke 11:13 realized this.  God doesn't want us as Christians to feel that we must measure or time in everything that we do, after all He is our judge.  In Matt. 11:27, 30, Christ said "come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy  laden and I will give you rest.  ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Many times man erects an obstacle course consisting of many do's and don'ts which he feels will lead a person to eternal life. No wonder Jesus Christ strongly rebuked the religious ritualist of His day in Mark 7:7-8 "Howbeit in vain do they worship me...."

 

Real Worship-From The Heart

 

Sometimes a Christian struggles inwardly with himself, wondering what he can do to please God. Probably some of the best answers are found in the Old Testament, notice Isaiah 1:11, 13, 17, also in Isaiah 58:4, 6-7. God condemns certain form of religious "one-upmanship". God wants genuine obedience which comes from the heart. He is primarily concerned with the state of a person's innermost appearance (I Sam. 16:7). We know it is right and good that we pray to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, "for him that knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin." (Jas. 4:17). We need to allow God's spirit to lead us into heartfelt and sincere prayer and the time element will come in due season, if we faint not.

 

PEACE AND SECURITY

 

What do you want? Probably, peace and security. Look at your life and think deeply, when was the last time that peace and security was there. Some of us will have to go back to our childhood, then there are some who would say, today, at this present time, I have peace and security. It really doesn't matter whether we go back to our childhood or accept the present as the peace and secure time of our lives.

 

In Eph. 3:13-21 the scripture states that our Savior and God are able to "DO exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think," This scripture is referring to the present, today, in the believer's life. Think of all of the good and right things that are available. God is able to do infinitely beyond our highest prayer, desire or hope, today! The latter part of this verse gives the manner and vehicle by which this is done. "According to the Power (dunamis) that works In us," that power is the Holy Spirit of God. Gal. 5:22 "The fruit of the spirit is love. joy, peace — faith, (security)." When we place Eph, 3:20 with Gal 5:22 we are told that we can have PEACE and SECURITY, "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."