Everyone who yearns to know God has the amazing privilege of enjoying
Him through daily prayer. Prayer is the opportunity God has given to us to talk
to Him - the greatest of all beings, the Almighty One, to whom nothing is
impossible. Prayer does not make God love us any more than He already does, but
it allows us to become conscious of how much He does!
Romans 8:37
… in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Since prayer is simply talking with God, it is the very life breath of
every child of God. Nobody needs to tell a child of God to pray because the new
nature He created in us desires His very presence and will be satisfied in
nothing else! In essence, prayer to a believer is something that forms part of
our way of living, a habit just like eating, sleeping, or brushing your teeth.
Jesus made prayer habitual. He would find a place where He could be alone with
the Father. Mark 1:35 says:
“Now in the morning,
having risen up a long while before daylight, He went out and departed into a
solitary place; and there He prayed.”
I. THE ESSENCE
OF PRAYER
In Luke 11:1, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Beth Moore writes in The Beloved Disciple: “Hebrew men were taught to pray from
the time they could speak. They recited benedictions and petitions on and off
all day long. They knew how to pray as men ought to pray, but when the beheld
Christ captivated by the presence of His Father for hours at a time, I believe
they meant, ‘Teach us to pray like that!’”
The way Jesus prayed provides a beautiful insight into what God
designed prayer to be: an
enjoyable time of refreshing in the presence of the One who loves us more than
anything!
II. OUR
CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER
And what is our confidence that we are welcome into His very throne
room?
Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV
Since then we have a great
high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us
hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted
as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne
of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
At the cross Jesus tore the veil that separates us from the presence
of God; therefore now, as children of the Most High God, we are standing in the
Holy of Holies all the time and can know with certainty that the Father not
only hears our prayer, but that He is enjoying us!
This means we can set aside time to be alone with God and enjoy Him!
Should your chosen time be early in the morning, you can then enjoy hearing His
direction, seeing His protection and support in the different situations that
you will face throughout the rest of the day.
III. MAKING
THE MOST OF OUR TIME WITH THE KING
To make the most of your prayer time, find the most convenient time
for you, whether it is during the day or at night. Pray by yourself, so that
you can have intimacy with God, freely pouring out your heart without any
inhibitions. Praying in church or with other Christians is enjoyable when you
first begin your life with God. But praying by yourself with God allows Him to
develop His own story for your life.
The Lord teaches us how we are to pray in Matthew 6:6:
“But you, when you pray,
go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is
in the secret place: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly.”
The advantage of praying in private is that since no one else is
listening, we can tell God everything we feel, want, or are worried about. We
can go to Him with our faults and virtues because He knows us for who we are.
He knows our thoughts and intentions even before we tell Him. God enjoys listening
to us and jealously longs for us. His desire is to reveal more of Himself
through prayer and His Word. Have a certain time and place for a 'daily
appointment' with God to develop your prayer habit. If for some reason you do
not have your devotions, don't fall into legalism or guilt. A famous preacher
said, “If you miss your prayer and Bible reading time, don’t feel guilty, feel
HUNGRY!” Rather, know that the Lord would never hold your shortcomings against
you, and without a doubt He will be waiting for you to give
you His love, blessing and to take away your burdens.
Important note to bear in mind: although there are certain guidelines
and suggestions regarding how to do things, the Lord has His own special way of
dealing with each special child of His. For example, one person may enjoy
getting to know God through prolonged prayer time in the mornings while another
grows best by listening to sermons in the evenings and then spending time in
the Word. The important
thing is for each person to enjoy the particular process that the
Father is leading him in.
In Matthew 11:28 God expresses His desire to help us: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.” The invitation is for those who
"labor" that is, those who are in tribulation, in affliction,
physically or emotionally wounded. You can give Him every burden that you have
been enduring and suffering.
God knows your situation, and as Isaiah 63:9 says, "In their entire affliction He was
afflicted." He identifies Himself with your pain, which is why He says
to us, "Come with all that you have, family problems, emotional needs,
come with your studies, or with your work, and I will give you rest.”
Prayer is pouring out your heart, which implies more than mechanically
repeating phrases while your mind dwells on other things. Praying is talking
with understanding, conscious that we are talking with an intelligent being.
Even though we do not see Him, Him presence is with every person who decides to
look for Him with their whole heart. The Lord says: “…And the one that comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37
If we look for Him He will be there and will receive us, not ignore
us. That is the reason we should not pray lip-service prayers, but rather
heart-prayers, prayers that we can remember so that we recognize the answer
when it comes.
HOW TO BE
EFFECTIVE IN PRAYER
- Start your prayer time realizing you are in the presence of God.
The knowledge that the way to the very throne of
God has been opened by the blood of Jesus and that He is indwelling us with His
Holy Spirit gives us confidence to know that He is literally present as we
pray! Hebrews 11:6 says: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him.”
- Practice confession
The Greek word for “confession” is homologeo, from homo meaning “same” and
logos meaning “word.” In essence, Biblical confession means to say the same as
God speaks. This means that we confess our sins not to be forgiven but because
we have already BEEN forgiven: what happens when we confess during prayer is
that we agree with God that those sins have already been paid at the cross!
This strengthens our confidence in relating to God! This primarily includes our
allowing God to show us things the way He sees them! This is in line with
Matthew 6:10 wherein Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
When we allow God to show us the things He sees,
we can, like He does, be able to “call
the things that are not as though they were [Romans 4:17],” and see them
come to reality!
For example, when you are sick, you speak God’s
healing since that is what Jesus died to give you. When you are in financial
lack, you declare God’s provision, since He became poor so that through His
poverty we might become rich. When you sin, you agree and declare God’s
forgiveness as purchased by His blood!
- Spend time presenting your specific needs.
Amazing privilege that we get to tell God our
specific needs—just like a father enjoys having his daughter share every detail
of her day and her wants and needs even if he already knows them and has in
fact already prepared for them! This is best seen in Matthew 6:28-33:
Why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of
the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he
not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What
shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the
pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well.
Jesus also expressed the Father’s desire to be
involved in our lives when He included these in the Lord’s Prayer as He said: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew
6:11 Therefore, take advantage of the opportunity to make your requests in
the name of Jesus. John 16:24 teaches us: “Until
now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy
may be full.”
- Enjoy the best of your time listening to the ultimate Lover of your soul!
Prayer is not only us talking to God but also Him
talking with us! As a dialogue, it allows us to develop our relationship with
Him because through it He reveals things about Himself!
Psalm 25:14 says, “The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known
to them.” Jesus translates the Hebrew for “fear of the Lord” as “worshiping
the Lord,” so this promise is open to anyone who belongs to Jesus!
Meanwhile Psalm 84:1-2 opens with, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord
Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and
my flesh cry out for the living God.”
Interestingly, the Song of Songs takes it
further in verse 1:4: Draw me after you,
let me run with you. The King has brought me into His chambers. Amazing that
the Lord allows us not only entrance to the outer courts, but right into His
very chambers, to the very depths of His heart!
Can you imagine the King of the universe
welcoming you into His very heart? That’s how much He loves you!
As you are beginning to spend time in prayer, you
may wonder how to “hear” God, like expecting to hear an audible voice. The
voice of God is the quiet and gentle whisper [2 Kings 19:11-13] tugging at your
heart. Do not worry because the Word of God tells us, “My sheep know My voice; I know them and they follow me [John 10:27].
Imagine an earthly father dealing with his two children, aged 12 and 4 years
old. The way he talks to the twelve-year-old will definitely be different from
the way he talks with the 4-year-old. Similarly, our Father knows what we need
and He knows how best to communicate with us.
As you become more familiar with talking with
God, you will be able to include other people in your prayers, which can
accomplish great things on their behalf. Let God lead you to pray for certain
answers, and believe you will see them. End your devotional time knowing that
it is not an end of your communion with God but rather a chance to enjoy the
rest of the day with Him right there with you! Feel free to talk to Him anytime
you need to. He delights in you doing so. You will feel that He is a part of
your life and it delights Him to be able to tell you at every turn how much He
loves you!
“All
that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one that comes to Me I will
by no means cast out.” John 6:37
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