Be Still and Know...

I am so thankful that David wrote in Psalms, "Be still and know that I am God." It was the verse the Holy Spirit used to break through all the frustration and confusion in my prayers tonight. Tonight was one of those nights I struggled focusing in my prayers, and Satan took complete advantage. As I am writing this, I'm still not sure much was accomplished in my prayers and I truly hope God counts my efforts to finish the prayer as faithfulness. I seem to go through a cycle in my prayer life, this one included, where I feel that I have to be perfect for God to answer by prayers. I know, from a previous Bible study, that for me to think this is pride. I cannot merit God's favor, it's not because I deserve to have this prayer fulfilled that it will be. When it is fulfilled, it will be because He loves me and desires to do things for me; it will be because as much as is in me, I fulfilled my end of the covenant in the verses He gave me. When I was still enough tonight to actually let God talk to me, He did point out that in each verse He gave me as His promise, the condition in each of them that I had to meet was simply, "ask and believe." Nowhere do any of the conditions in these verses say my life has to be sinless. Nowhere do these verses say I have to be worthy to merit His favor. They simply say I have to have enough faith to pray in His will and believe that He will answer. God does not expect me to be perfect, He expects me to be faithful...that is what He will reward...that is why He will answer this prayer.