It seems that one of the biggest struggles Christians have is being in a constant state of prayer. All too often we can find ourselves only praying right before bed or before our meals.
So the question a lot of times is why should we pray? But first of all we must put things in order and understand to whom we pray. There is only one supreme Creator and sovereign God. There is only one way to Him and that is through His only son, Jesus Christ. God, our Heavenly Father, is the only one we can be assured of who hears and answers our prayers. He is the God of amazing love, mercy, and forgiveness.
By Him, all things are possible. Jesus says in Mark 10:27, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God."
Daniel 9:18 tells us: “We do not ask because we deserve help, but because God is so merciful.”
One way in which God demonstrates of love is forgiveness of the sins each of us have committed. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17).
What do we pray for?Prayer is the key to the heart of God. Prayer is the only way to a real and personal relationship with God.
Pray acknowledging He is God, and that you accept His gracious gift, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior (Genesis 17:1, Romans 6:16-18).
Pray confessing our sins and accepting His forgiveness (Romans 3:23-26).
Pray that His will be done in our lives, that His Holy Spirit guide us, and that we be filled with the fullness of all God has for us.
Pray for (spiritual) understanding and wisdom (Proverbs 2:6-8, 3:5).
Pray with thanksgiving for all the ways He blesses us (Philippians 4:6.) Pray when we are ill, lonely, going through trials or interceding for others (James 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Pray to worship Him (Psalm 95:6-7).
Honestly, there is nothing we can’t pray about. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” This shows us that the communication with God is meant to never end.
We find intimacy with God through communicating with Him in prayer. We go to Him in faith, knowing that He hears and answers all our prayers (1 John 5:14).
Be confident that God knows and wants what is best for us; so ask that His will be done in all we seek from Him. Then, thank Him for it, even though it hasn’t happened yet.
How do we pray?Jesus gave his disciples, what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6) as a model. In addition, Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us we can pray boldly -- “That is one reason that we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus. Let us seek him and never stop trusting him. Jesus understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”
The Bible shows us that “God is not a man that he should lie.” Knowing this we can be sure that all of God’s promises will be kept. Go to the Lord boldly in confidence that he is keeping His end of the Bargain.Above all, pray with sincerity, honor, and humbleness before the Almighty God. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results” (James 5:16).
So as the lyrics of one of my songs say, “There was a time when I would pray, couldn’t think of a thing to say…But Lord I FOUND MY WAY.” I pray that I have helped you to yet again find your way. Peace and Blessings. Point5
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1 comment:
We see time and time again how jesus himself prayed to the Father. How much more do we need to go boldly to His throne of grace! I once heard an astounding statistic that said over 90% of pastors only pray an average of 6 minutes per day. That is so sad. Many times we Christians pray as my brother Point 5 said, only at meal or bed time. Some of us even go as far as to pray in bad times when we have tried everything else first. Why are we not making prayer the first thing we do when all hell breaks loose? What about praying for guidance. Are we asking God His Will on the major decisions in our lives? What about the little ones? How many of us actually ask Him what He wills for us each morning before we plan our day? He wants us to come to Him for everything- from what foods we put into our bodies to what people we allow to get close to us. Why are so many Christians out of the Will of God? Maybe they never took the time to ask Him what they should do. You may say, "well I pray and ask Him what His will is in my life." That is great, but it is not the last step to prayer! We have to remember that prayer is a CONVERSATION with God. When we have a conversation we talk AND we listen! After we say our piece to His Holiness then we must listen for that still small voice (1 King 19:12). Only then should we leave the place He has last directed us to. And when He speaks, and He does speak, then we are to obey His voice and enter His Perfect Will!
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