He does expect something from you though.  To pray earnestly and with the expectation that he will answer you.  When you pray, God will hear you and answer once you pray with sincerity and the belief that he will help you.  If you pray and subconsciously feel that  you are praying in vain, then don’t expect to get any answer or relief from your troubles.  Pray fervently, honestly, from your heart, trusting and knowing that God will answer.  Be persistent, don’t give up nor give in.  Regardless of the hour, whenever you feel the need, go to God in prayer.  He is your natural lifeline.

Do not underestimate God.  Sometimes we feel that our problems are too overwhelming or even too trivial for God.  But we must understand that, no matter what, or who we are, God is there for us.  Build a relationship with him, through Jesus Christ, and you will see that nothing is impossible for Him.

“Pray at all times and every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 6:18

When you involve yourself in gossping and slandering another person, this can impact negatively on your spiritual life.  You spend so much time minding other people’s business, you don’t have time for your own.

I have had the experience of people taking an interest in my personal life.  You see, I am a very reserved person.  In my workplace, I keep to myself and hardly really mingle with others.  This is not to say I am ’stuck up’ as some people think, it is I just prefer to be on my own than get involved in matters that does not concern me – office politics for one, and gossiping of other coworkers being the other.

Because I am such quiet person, people tend to take an unsettling  interest in me and ask questions of my closest friend which really does not concern them – am I married; does my husband work; where does he work; who is the father of my baby (when I was last pregnant);  etc, etc. 

I would tell her that because they don’t have a life of their own, that’s why they are so interested in mine.  Then there is the other aspect where they say nasty things about me because they don’t know anything about me.  Sometimes it just takes one person to say something and someone else expands on it and then it becomes so nasty and degrading you really wonder how some people could be so malicious.

I don’t take them on though.  I do what I have to in terms of my work and I make sure that all my conversations to others are about work and nothing more.  I think that is one of the reasons I happen to keep so young and happy.  I don’t worry unnecessarily and concern myself with only what concerns me.

If I am in the company of others and the topic happens to gravitate to gossiping about another person, I just excuse myself and go somewhere else, or just listen and have nothing to say.  I don’t like it for myself so I won’t do it someone else.

The bible says:

“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own”.  Proverbs 26:17

What happens when you seize a dog by the ears?  It is likely to bite you.  When you meddle in matters that does not concern you, you are likely to be bitten.  This can happen by:

1. you getting hurt physically;
2. you worrying unnecessarily about something that has nothing to do with you;
3. you end up holding a grudge against someone because they refuse to take your advice;
4. you are so concerned about someone else’s problems your own life with its own problems are neglected.

Jesus Christ commanded that we love one another.  When you love, you do your best to see the good in everybody.  Don’t join in gossiping about others and don’t involve yourself in matters that don’t concern you directly.

We must all look at the positive side to any matter and pray for someone in a difficult situation for this is the only way we can truly help them.

The best type of prayer is simple, spontaneous prayer.  In other words pray whenever you feel the need.  Of course, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, prayer comes easier.  The easiest person you can talk to is Jesus, you don’t need to be an eloquent speaker.  He will understand perfectly what you are trying to say to Him.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus gives instructions on how to pray.  Here’s what he said in verse 7:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do.  They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

He then goes on to give an example of what to pray for by what we call the Lord’s prayer today.  You can say the Lord’s prayer in your own words, or pick aspects of it and concentrate on that.  For example, where it says, “Give us this day our daily bread”, is praying for your daily meals.  If you have a problem putting food on the table, then pray specifically for that.

God does not care about eloquence or how many fancy words you know.  He just wants to hear what is in your heart.  These are the prayers he listens and responds to.  Praying is not difficult.  Just think of God as your best friend, and you will be surprised at how easy it becomes to talk to Him.

Could you remember a time in your life when there was an emergency or something tragic happened and you called out to God for help?  Do you remember what you said?  It could have been a simple ‘please God, help me”.  This would have come directly from the heart without you even having to think about it.

Simple prayers are effective prayers.  If you don’t know what to pray about just take the Apostle Paul’s advice:

“Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  Philippians 4:6