Keeping Prayer on Track

Today's Reading: Matthew 20 & Matthew 21:1-22

Scripture:

"The the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him." Matthew 20:20

Observation:

The mother of these men was not intentionally acting with evil intent. She was doing what she felt was the best thing to do for her family by asking that the faithfulness of her sons be rewarded. The issue with her and her sons was that they totally missed the heart of what Christ had been teaching.

It is easy to sit in the comfort of my chair and throw rocks at the people in this story, but in reality I am no better. I walk up to Christ, kneel in false humility, and ask Him to make much of me. I can sugar coat it and dumb it down but if I remove all the pretense that is what a lot of my prayers are essentially about. Something in my life is hindering my joy or advancement and I want it taken away.

Application:

I see three things that can help me keep my prayers on track from today's text. The first is in 20:1-16; fairness is not a Biblical value. Fairness is in fact quite a selfish and egotistical feeling. If I am approaching Christ with even a hint "this is not fair" in my mind then I can know that I am not praying according to His intent.

The second is in 20:20-28; Christ does not exist for my comfort and convenience. The Son of Man did not have a place to rest His head, why should I expect anything better. If I am approaching Christ with a heart that is bent towards wanting a better life then I have opened myself up for all types of deception.

The third is in 20:18-22; Christ expects me to bear fruit. Appearances do not matter. I can do all the religious acts I want and still miss the mark. Christ's plans for me are life transformation. Everything He has invested in me was intended to produce fruit for Him to enjoy. Whenever I reach a place where I feel as if I am just going through the motions I should remember how this worked out for the fig tree.

Prayer:

There is much on my heart today that is not right. There are things I seek which clearly work against what You have spoken to me this morning. My desire for things to be fair clearly indicates how disconnected I am from what I truly deserve. My desire for comfort and convenience reveals how locked into this world I am and how busy I am working at making it feel like home. My lack of fruit is a grim reminder of just how caught up I am in going through the motions.

I give to You today these things. These three matters of the heart are as wicked and nasty as any act I could ever commit. Even as I sit here this morning fully awake to the gravity of this teaching I still sense pride that is resisting this conviction. Father I am grateful for Your forgiveness and my only hope is that You remove these mountains in my life and produce through me the fruit You desire for me to bear.