PRAYER IS A PRIVILEGE
1 King 9:3 And the LORD said to him: "I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me."
About an hour and a half after I got off the prayer line, GOD reminded me that prayer is a privilege. I was dumbfounded for a couple of seconds. Privilege is a special advantage or right God gives to a person or group. It is a gift to us from God. Can I be transparent for a minute? It has been a long time since I viewed prayer as a privilege. Perhaps that is why God brought it to my attention. Far too often, we look at prayer as our right. Newsflash: GOD is not just reminding me. He is talking to us. Prayer is a privilege. Take this historical Biblical journey with me.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their disobedience shattered the perfect fellowship they had with God. This separation is emphasized in Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear." Reflect on that for a moment. Adam's sin caused God's face to be hidden from humanity and resulted in God ceasing to hear us. Adam's sin brought spiritual death, which signifies a separation from God.
1 Kings 9:3 essentially warns King Solomon that if he or his descendants turn away from God and disobey His commandments, the consequences will be severe: the temple built as a symbol of God's presence will be rejected, Israel will be rejected, Israel will be exiled from the land God promised them, and the temple itself will become a byword and object of scorn among other nations, signifying the complete loss of God's favor and protection. As in the garden, God points out how sin will cause us to lose everything. Sin interferes with our communication and connection with GOD.
In the garden, God initiated a plan for redemption. Genesis 3:15, often called the protoevangelium (the first gospel), foretells Jesus' victory over sin and Satan. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, the broken communication was restored as He became the bridge over that gulf.
Watch this tie-in. We often read the Scriptures in isolation. Notice how John 14:6 ties in here. John 14:6 reminds us, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through (by) me." It was Jesus. Jesus reestablished the connection. Did you get it? Jesus connected us back to the Father. He is the reason we can see and communicate with the Father again. We don't need a priest or someone to go to Him for us. JESUS has reestablished the connection. Allowing us to live in fellowship with God again.
As a result, prayer is a blessing that allows all of us to communicate directly with God. Furthermore, prayer is a privilege for communion with God, not a right; it is a means of worship, a way to seek help, and a method to strengthen our faith. Therefore, we should view prayer as a sacred habit, a privilege that allows us to approach the source directly rather than as an option or additional obligation. Every time we pray, let us remember it is a special gift from God. The goal today is to reconsider our attitudes toward prayer.