Now that you are totally confused....! I was typing the word praying into a text message and predictive text popped up the word orating. While the obvious first conclusion is that I can't spell, or more accurately I am beginning to have trouble seeing the letters :-) it was really strange to me that the word orating was the word that it chose. And, I have noticed that every time I typed the word praying wrong, the word orating comes up.
So... I decided that since I keep seeing it, and even though I know what the word means, maybe I should look up the actual definition.
The actual definition of the word orating means to "speak pompously"! Wow!!! That really got me to thinking. So, I looked up the word pray in the dictionary (also knowing what pray means) and saw the following... too offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc. to God; to offer; to bring; to make earnest petition; crave.
That is even a bigger WOW!! To think that the word orating comes up every time I "mistype" the word praying and yet they are such complete opposites and contrasts to each other. And yet... How many times do we "orate" instead of pray. There is nothing about prayer that should ever cause us to "speak pompously". God already knows everything about us and everything we are going to say. To "orate" our thoughts to God reminds me of the scripture in Matthew and how God warns against it.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
I find it equally interesting that in the definition of pray not only are there words like "to offer petition, praise and thanks", "to bring", but the word "crave" is also there. Crave by definition means... to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly. And the most interesting part of all to me is that those definitions for crave are not only what we should feel when we offer prayers to God, but those are also what God's feelings for us are!
I do not want to be the type of "pray-er" that orates, but rather one that seeks God's wisdom in all things. I want His ways to be my ways. I want to look and smell like Him. I want to have the compassion for others that He does. I want to get out of His way and let Him work. I want to crave Him as much as He craves me!
Lord help us all to be the type of people that move past ourselves and begin living into the passions of God; The type of people that have the passion for loving all people more than we love ourselves; The type of people who have the ability to see others the way you see them. And help us to realize that You are God and we are Not no matter how much we "orate" our thoughts out in public. And most of all, help us to crave you as much as you crave us!
1 Corinthians 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Blessings!
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