The Origin Of Prayer: The Heart

Main Idea: Prayer must originate from the heart. Praying for things that haven’t impacted your heart is ineffective.

Matthew 6:5

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

This is the extreme manifestation of this verse of scripture. The Pharisees prayed in public places as a ritual, not allowing their heart to connect with any of the things they were praying about.

However, there are times when we too have prayed for people or situations that we simply didn’t have heartfelt emotion about. The truth is, when we pray in this manner, not only are we not emotionally connected to whatever we’re praying about, but we are also not connecting with God. Consider the following scripture.

John 4:23

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Prayer is a form of worship, even when you are petitioning God for His help or guidance in anything. Worship of any kind must be in spirit and in truth. We must go to the Father pouring out the things that are in our spirit.