Our prayer lives can be rich or very shallow. When our prayers strictly revolve around ourselves and our needs it tends to be on the shallow side as it is far more about us than it is about God. About our desires rather than His desires. In fact, there is a practice that separates shallow prayer from rich, God centered prayer, and that is the subject of Psalm 1.

“Blessed is the one

    who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

    or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and who meditates on his law day and night.

 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

    which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

    whatever they do prospers.

 Not so the wicked!

    They are like chaff

    that the wind blows away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

The Psalmist starts by talking about what the Christ follower does not do: walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing in the way of sinners, or sitting in the seat of mockers. All of these simply reference men and women who choose not to model their lives after the values of God. When we ignore Him we reject His ways and these three descriptions fit us.

In contrast, the man who is Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on that law day and night. Here is the one thing that differentiates shallow prayer from deep prayer. It is the practice of meditating on the law or thinking deeply about Scripture on a daily basis. Here is why it makes a difference. Meditation is like time exposure to God and it is as we meditate on His word that our minds are brought into alignment with His. In the process we start to think more like Him and to pray for things that God deeply cares about.

In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read this about God’s word. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Scripture is powerful. Scripture and meditation is even more powerful as it penetrates deeply in our soul. Then you add prayer as we literally pray that what God’s word says would become a part of our own lives, and you have a life changing combination that changes everything in our lives. That is the secret of a deep prayer life.

God desires that we bring all our requests to Him. He invites us to do so in many places. He also desires that our hearts begin to align with His heart and that we start to understand what is important to Him and make those things important to us. As we do so through Scripture, meditation, and prayer we become deeper people and we start to care about those things He cares about.

Father, would you reveal more of your heart to me as I intentionally meditate on your word? Remind me to pray through the Scriptures I meditate on asking you to make my heart like yours. Amen.