Oh that we would learn to pray, oh we say a few well rehearsed words but the children of God as a whole has forgotten how to pray. As silly as it may sound I start my prayers God teach me to pray. There is prayer then there is the prayer of faith and that is what I want. PRAYER Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe... and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 When you pray: 1) Use your faith. William Ward says: We stamp and address an envelope and send it on its way with complete confidence that it will reach its destination. Yet we wonder and even doubt if our prayers will be heard by an ever-present, ever-loving God. Wrap your prayer in expectation. God doesnt respond to your need, He responds to your faith. 2) Dont worry about using the right words. Jesus said of the Pharisees, They think they will be heard because of their many words. Sometimes the most effective praying is brief and to the point. 3) Be specific. Jesus said, You will be given whatever you ask for in my name (John 16:23). The great thing about being specific is that whenever God answers, you know it. The loved one you prayed for was saved. The illness was cured. The more explicit you are, the more alert youll be for answers--which means you can be more specific with your thanks to God. When you pray, go into your room, close the door. Matthew 6:6 Sometimes we treat God like a unimportant visitor, we give Him a few hurried minutes and scattered thoughts as we go about our day as usual, but we dont set aside a time and place to give Him our full attention. We forget that the place of prayer is also the place of answered prayer! Our problem is the war of wandering thoughts. Things weve forgotten suddenly parade across our consciousness, demanding our attention. And as James says, if were double-minded we dont get answers to our prayers. What can we do? 1) Pray aloud. This makes it difficult for your mind to wander. You may feel awkward at first, but youll soon get comfortable with it. 2) Jot down distracting thoughts. When the ticker tape starts running, write each thing down and forget it until later. And if you still cant help thinking about it, take it to God in prayer. 3) Keep a diary. Sometimes we dont really know what we want or how we feel about something until we put it in writing. Then, like a mirror, there it is: your deepest needs and yearnings in front of you--and God. Tell Him your longings and let Him purify them. Tell Him your temptations and let Him strengthen you. Tell Him your resentments and let Him forgive you, and empower you to forgive others. Theres no greater privilege than the privilege of prayer, so dont neglect it.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 04:00:46 +0000
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