Some time ago, I received a chain email involving prayer. It was the usual type of such email, in which the reader was encouraged to pray an enclosed prayer—a few simple lines only—and pass it on. In return, according to the email, the reader would receive a "blessing" from God. Feeling a bit bothered by what appeared as a terribly callous approach toward prayer to God, I contemplated the message and considered whether or not I should respond; if not to the whole list (as the email requested), then at least to the person who forwarded it to me. I decided to respond, and quickly jotted down a few scriptures that show the futility of repetitious and meaningless prayer. I had prepared to reply to the sender only, but I could not help but notice the "reply to all button"—and that is what I chose!
"Oh, boy," I suddenly thought after sending the message, "trouble now! Surely a barrage of hot emails will follow!" Yet, none did. Only one email came back, and the sender did not include a message. Surprisingly, no one took me to task for objecting.
Real With God?
Sadly, the aforementioned chain prayer is typical of most people's approach to God: they want God to bless and prosper them, but it seems they are not willing to truly honor and glorify Him, even with a few heartfelt words in prayer. In other words, they want God to be "real" with them, but they are not willing to be real in their response to Him. Rather, they take Him for granted. They readily assume that God, who is kind and loving and freely gives all things, will simply accept whatever offering of their lives they present to Him, no matter how insignificant. This is what Christ said of those of His day, as He quoted the prophet Isaiah to describe how the people drew near and honored Him with their lips, though their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8). They had no real desire to honor and reverence Him.
But what about those of us in God's Church? What is our attitude and approach when we present to God our spiritual gifts, such as prayer, study and meditation (Matthew 5:23–24)? Do we honor and reverence Him with our offerings (Malachi 1:6–8; Isaiah 43:23–24)? Do we offer Him our very best, without blemish, as befitting the Great God (Leviticus 22:20)? Are we careful, when coming before Him, to avoid careless and meaningless sacrifices (Ecclesiastes 5:1)? Do we faithfully present our sacrifices as He appoints and commands (Numbers 28:2; Acts 3:1)? Or are we careless, typically neglecting our daily service to God (Psalm 61:8)? Do we try to convince ourselves that a lax attitude is okay—that God understands and will accept, even if we do not do as He commands and give Him the very best of all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30)?
Will Just Any Offering Do?
Will God accept just any offering? In the first such example in the Bible, God made it clear that He would not, when He rejected the sacrifice of Cain but accepted that of his brother Abel, who was careful to honor Him with the first of his flock (Genesis 4:3–5). God afterward admonished Cain, and warned him that if he was not careful, his angry attitude and approach to God's correction would result in sin (v. 7). God refused Cain's offering, deeming it unacceptable because it did not honor Him (Proverbs 3:9). Abel's attitude and approach was different, however, in that he glorified God with a "more excellent" sacrifice, which God says is instructive for us today (Hebrews 11:4; 12:24).
Later, when He dramatically struck dead the sons of Aaron before all the congregation for profaning His holy sacrifice, God made it even more clear that we are to be circumspect in our offerings to Him (Leviticus 10:1–2). He then commanded Moses to say unto Aaron, "By those who come near Me [to serve God] I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified" (v. 3). Nadab and Abihu were among those who failed to carefully consider and reverence God's holiness—a failure that proved deadly for them, as it has for others (cf. 1 Samuel 6:19–20; Acts 5:3–5). Disasters have occurred when people have not faithfully served the Lord with fear and trembling (Psalm 2:11). Clearly, this matters to God!
Spiritual Sacrifices Acceptable to God
Still, what about our "spiritual" offerings? Do they really matter? The Apostle Peter obviously thought so when he wrote in his first epistle that we, "as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). In the same manner, Paul encouraged the brethren at Rome to consider it reasonable that they present themselves as "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1). Paul also said that he labored in the gospel that the "offering of the Gentiles" might be acceptable to God (Romans 15:16). The Hebrews were likewise reminded to continually offer the "sacrifice of praise… the fruit of our lips" to God, and were told that He is well pleased with sacrifices of doing good (Hebrews 13:15–16). The prophet Hosea admonished ancient Israel to take words of repentance with them, and return to God to offer the "sacrifices of our lips" (Hosea 14:2).
King David no doubt understood that it mattered when he prayed that the "words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart" would be acceptable in God's sight (Psalm 19:14). He also declared that we should, "Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him [to] worship… the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (1 Chronicles 16:29). Further, we read that God accepts the sacrifice of the humble and repentant (Psalm 51:17), and that He delights in the prayer and words of the upright and pure (Proverbs 15:8, 26). Micah says that God requires the sacrifices of justice, mercy and humility (Micah 6:6–8). Looking forward, God inspired Malachi to prophesy of a time when all people everywhere will glorify His great name and offer to Him incense [prayers] of a "pure offering" (Malachi 1:11)—prayers that David says will be made "continually" as God is praised "daily" (Psalm 72:15). Isaiah also foretells of this time, writing that the offerings and sacrifices of all nations will one day be accepted in God's "house of prayer" (Isaiah 56:7). Truly, Christ's expectations are the "same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Reaping What We Sow
How, then, do we assure that our spiritual sacrifices and offerings are always acceptable and well-pleasing to God (Philippians 4:18)? Paul gave us a principle to follow when he told the Corinthians that if they sowed bountifully, they would also reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6). The same principle applies in our relationship to God: we must in our service to Him give Him a real, earnest effort in order to be accepted (Deuteronomy 11:13–15). If we faithfully take the time to "draw near to God" (through prayer, study, meditation and fasting), He will accept us and respond in the same way (James 4:8). God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Hence, it is effective, fervent prayer that accomplishes much with God (James 5:16)—not empty, meaningless words (Matthew 6:7).
Keeping this in mind, we must be diligent to present ourselves approved—acceptable—to God (2 Timothy 2:15). We do so by giving God the best of all we have to offer (Ezekiel 20:40; 44:30). This especially includes the best of our heart, soul and strength—our time and effort (Deuteronomy 6:5; 10:12–13). This is why David said he would not sacrifice to God that which "cost [him] nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24). This is why the psalmist cried out with his "whole" heart (Psalm 119:145), and praised and glorified God with "all" his heart (Psalm 86:12). For the same reason, Jeremiah was inspired to tell the Israelites that God would hear their prayers, and that they would find Him when they searched for Him with "all [their] heart" (Jeremiah 29:12– 13). This is also why the prayers and alms of the Roman centurion Cornelius were declared a "memorial before God" (Acts 10:1–4), and why the young evangelist Timothy was told to "meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all" (1 Timothy 4:15). This is why the Apostle Peter wrote that it is through our earnest, and diligent effort that we truly make sure our calling and election (2 Peter 1:10).
In the end, it was Christ who said that we must be careful to honor and exalt God in our prayers, as in the "model prayer" He gave His disciples (Matthew 6:9–13). Christ also reminded us that we should meditate on God's word day and night (Psalm 1:2), just as the kings of Israel kept it with them and read it diligently all the days of their lives (Deuteronomy 17:19). If we do this—if we are faithful to observe all He commands—then God truly will, as He told His servant Joshua, "make your way prosperous and have good success" (Joshua 1:8).