All tagged prayer
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.
Prayer heals us; it heals our physical illnesses, and it heals our spiritual sickness. The answer to prayer can be seen in the lame walking again, and it can also be witnessed in the forgiveness of sin. What is our need today? Is our body, or the body of a loved one, in need of prayer? Are we desperately in need of salvation, or the forgiveness of sin?
How is it that we are saved? How is it that the sin which rules our flesh can be overcome? When I realized that without Jesus Christ in my life each and every day, I would naturally revert back to the creature I once was, my faith would begin to change at once within me. I came to understand that temptation and sin did not go away when I first believed, but instead had to be held at bay, and that I was allowed a moment by moment victory over it through Jesus Christ, my Savior.
Does waiting on God seem tedious to you? Perhaps it has become this way because you have the idea that He is doing nothing while you wait, and that He continues to do nothing until at long last, in a moment suited to His own good pleasure, He suddenly cares enough to act. Well, nothing could be further from the truth, and waiting should be an active effort on our part in which we patiently watch Him at work.
The Holy Spirit comes to us in two installments, the first is the one that leads us to God through Jesus, and the second comes at some point after our initial conversion. There is no mandatory waiting period so you might receive both almost simultaneously. Do you have both inoculations, the initial injection, and then the booster? Did you even know what you felt was the Holy Spirit, or did you think it was just a yearning for the Lord God that you felt, but couldn’t fully describe? By praying we are led to the fullness of the Holy Spirit; yet he is not a reward for righteousness, but rather a helpmate for our spirituality... especially in times of greatest need.
You believe in God the Father, and have accepted His Son Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, and Savior, but have you come to the realization that there is another who now dwells within you? Deep inside, you have become the abode of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you haven’t acknowledged His presence... but He is there and even though He often helps you secretly, He wants to know you in an amazing way.
One of the most frequent responses I receive from those who read my morning devotionals is a request for prayer. More often than not it is to join them in a specific prayer that they have been praying for some time without receiving an answer. Do you experience this from time to time in your prayer life? Well, if so, don’t be discouraged because the disciples failed to receive immediate answers to their prayers too, and Jesus taught them a powerful lesson in it.
Are we all witnessing to others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ; if so do we witness at home or abroad, and do we ever feel overwhelmed as we go about performing this task? If we are overworked, and find that there are way more souls than we can possibly reach, or teach, then let’s listen to the words of Jesus as He tells us how to call for help. However, if we find that we are not witnessing at all, or not going forth into God’s harvest field, then let’s resolve ourselves to listen for His call, and from wherever we might find ourselves let’s pray for strength and resolve!
We recite a prayer before meals, and at bedtime, and together we pray in church service as we repeat the Lord’s Prayer, but for most Christians that is the extent of our regular communication with God. Oh, we might say a prayer when we are in danger or the midst of trouble, but that is a one-sided prayer and seldom a conversation, and all we really want to hear Him say in response to us is “I’ve Got it!” Does this describe your prayer life? If so then you are missing out on the greatest blessing of faith… conversational prayer.
When we are hungry, who do we turn to? When we are thirsty, where do we look to have our thirst quenched? When we need a safe place to lay our head at night, whose name do we call out to? Before we search for food, water, or shelter, we should seek God, and then obey Him as He leads us, and provides for us. This was the message to the Israelites during their trek through the desert, and it is our message today.
As a Christian, are we meant to be sick? What does the Bible tell us about what we should do if we are ill? Well, it isn’t a mystery and is spelled out very clearly. We are meant to be healed. Yet so many of us think that although Jesus and the disciples healed, that this is a dead practice today... well it isn’t. The gift of healing is just as alive today as it was in the time of Jesus, and it continues to happen in the Church today.
Do you pray as you should, and when you Listen now, Is God’s Voice Calling?do pray, does God meet you there? When He does, people have a great deal to ask of Him and begin to do so immediately, but the most important aspect of our time of prayer is not what we say to Him, but what God says to us. The most powerful moment in most biblical accounts begins when the Lord speaks, but do we hear Him when He speaks to us personally? Are we even listening? Then, if we listen, how do we answer Him? Do we acknowledge Him at all, or just sit dumb in silence? So, if we do hear, how is it that we respond? Do we say, “Yes Lord!”, or “Here am I Lord.”?
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?
How often do we view the strife and tumult of our daily lives as an encumbrance to our abiding in Jesus Christ and God when we should not view it this way at all? In the vineyard the wind blows, the leaves rustle loud, and the sound of the storm grows intense, but at the root, the vine never moves, even as the rain continues on unabated. Every storm provides rain that is drawn into us as strength from the wet ground, and what, on the surface, might appear to be a raging flood becomes the watering can of our faith.
When we are young, we have a certain amount of confidence in our bodies and lean more on their ability to perform well and heal themselves, but as we age our faith in them wanes, and our trust shifts more and more towards God’s ability to heal us. When we are sick and have access to a doctor we find that our confidence is more inclined to be in the practice of medicine, but when no doctor is available, then our cry goes out to God. The challenge for the young is to have the faith of the old and the suffering of a patient in the hospital who prays the prayer of a poor and desperate soul. Do we find that our hope and faith in God reflects the strength of each age we have experienced… of the span of life?