All tagged Pray

We pray to our heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit guides us, and we make our requests in the name of Jesus. Have you ever felt so loved? Have you ever felt so cared for? Have you ever felt so pampered, and the fullness of such joy? In Jesus, our prayers are continued as He intercedes for us before the Father. Do you pray in His name when you enter your prayer closet? When we do this we are not just performing a formality, but are exercising His authority and obediently grasping hold of His promise. Then, when we say “Amen” are we claiming the words as our own and sharing the blessing within them?

Who have we prayed for today? Have we left your prayer closets after having prayed in the spirit for our personal needs, the needs of our families, and maybe a close friend or two? Well, if so, that was a good start, but it should only be the beginning of our daily prayers. In fact, we should consciously pray for all the saints, and all day long in every circumstance, for every soul in need. Then, as our conscious prayers fade, we should recognize our unconscious prayers as well.

Do we know how to pray despite the circumstances we find ourselves in? No? Well, do you know how to talk with a parent? There is no secret to having a conversation with the Lord, and no secret to obtaining answered prayers, just one simple fact... if we pray to Him as if we were having a conversation with a parent, and ask for those things we know He can agree to during that interaction, then He will do those things for us. This is called praying within His will.

In the midst of our own troubles do we think to pray for others? When we are suffering, or the enemy is knocking at our door, do we ask God for help, and then include our neighbors in that prayer as well? It is hard to think beyond our own circumstances when the situation is dire, because our true nature is a selfish one. Can we overcome the “ME” in our prayers long enough to lift up a stranger as we ask for personal deliverance? While we are waiting on God, we should try spending some of that time in prayer for others who are facing trials and hardships of their own... maybe while we are waiting on God He is waiting on our intercession for another.

One of the great benefits of church is being together before God with those who seek salvation just as we do, but another powerful attribute is the strength that comes from joint prayer. I am not talking about the recitation of a common prayer, although that is powerful as well, but I am speaking of two or more believers praying in their own thoughts and words for the same thing. If you have ever recited the Lord’s Prayer then you have participated in common prayer, but what about joint prayer with another believer? Have you ever prayed separately, together, for the same cause?

Jesus said that whatever we ask for in His name He will do, so why is it that we can find ourselves praying and Him not immediately responding to what we are asking? This is a common question asked about prayer, and one that causes many pastors to begin making excuses for the inaction of Jesus or silence of God. The inability to understand prayer and the fulness of the Lord’s promise based on one verse of scripture, which we often take out of context, leads to the spiritual downfall of many.

Do we tell God what we want, or need, when we come to Him in prayer?  Perhaps we don’t really know ourselves, we may know that we are hurting, or that we are in distress but can’t say why. Depression is such a mysterious illness. We don’t know why we feel the way we do, but we think we know. Most of the time though, when we believe we know what it is that is depressing us we are wrong, and that is why God always wants us to tell Him what the problem is. He wants us to take the time to understand our own needs, and to determine if what we desire is truly what we need and is something within His will for us... then, once we know, we can call out to Him correctly.

In the name of Jesus Christ rests great power. We call upon it in faith, and by so doing it heals, saves, and provides for our forgiveness of sin. No other name has such strength in it, or reaches the Father’s ear with such clarity, but before we can call on His name we must believe in the man, the Son of God, and obey. We can add nothing to His name that will improve upon it. So, call His name, but call it in faith, precision, and with certainty.

It is one thing to know what a life of prayer is, but something altogether different to live that life. Being called to prayer and answering that call are two entirely different things too. Every Christian receives God’s call to prayer, but so many will cripple themselves by either refusing to answer that call, or by not knowing how to fully engage in it. Are we participating in a dedicated life of prayer today, or are we limping along, hobbled, and without understanding what praying without ceasing means, or involves?