Prayer
Why do we need to pray?
What's so important about praying?
Do I need to pray to be saved?
What is prayer?
According to Dictionary.com, prayer is:
A devout petition to God or an object of worship.
Spiritual communion with God or an object of worship.
The act or practice of praying to God or an object of worship.
When the word prayer comes to our minds, we probably have a picture of what that looks like. Maybe it's a pastor of a church dressed in a white robe, standing up high behind a pulpit with his arms stretched out over his congregation. It could be a grandmother kneeling next to her bed, hands crossed, silently talking to God. Perhaps it's a group of women holding hands in a circle in the fellowship hall of a church. Regardless of your background, you probably have some prior experience with the concept of prayer.
If we are honest, though, most of us almost cringe when we hear someone say anything about prayer. We might even feel like the writers of the Psalms who beg God to hear their cries and prayers, but wonder if He really will. The reasoning behind that negative thought process is probably because we don't think we are doing it enough. So, when someone asks, "have you prayed about that?" or "how's your prayer life?" we typically feel bombarded with discouragement.
Billy Graham said, "prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God." Pretty simple, isn't it? And yet we seem to make it such a complex act. So, let's consider prayer as communication with God. Plain and simple. God, our Creator, meets us right where we are. We don't have to fix ourselves or put on a happy face before we come to Him. We can come to Him when we need His peace, His guidance, and His hope when we feel no peace, are completely lost and have little to no hope. No part of our messy life scares Him. Isn't that a relief?
Prayer is simply:
getting to know God.
communicating our desires to God.
listening to God speak truths to our spirit.
voicing our need for God to help us.
observing God in the creation and praising Him.
sitting with God in our pain, and asking Him to comfort us.
expressing our gratitude by thanking God.
an ongoing conversation with God.
"Our prayer lives should be less about a short segment in the morning to "start our day off right" and more about an ongoing, vibrant, open-ended conversation that we have throughout our day with our God—our Heavenly Father.
"Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
Psalms 55:1 KJV"
"Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Psalms 130:2 KJV"
"Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Romans 12:12 KJV"
Yes, we need to pray to be saved if we don't pray then we wouldn't do God's work. God has a plan for us and to receive that plan we need to pray just like we need to fast. You might not like to pray but you need to die daily and the way to do that is praying.
The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. From the moment your alarm sounds, your decision-making process begins. With so many decisions to make, it can be hard to know where to spend your time, but the Apostle Paul provides valuable insight into fulfilling God's will in our lives. He tells us never to stop praying.
When we choose to pray continually, we realign our thinking and our priorities in a way that directly affects our decision making. God cares about how you spend your time and energy. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 37:23 that God delights in every detail of our lives – He wants to be involved in everything! So, whether you're headed into a meeting or shuttling your kids to their next activity – pray for the Lord's presence to precede your every moment.
In the 35,000 decisions, you'll make today, make it a priority to pray and invite God's direction into every part of your day
"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV"
"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:6 KJV"
"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 KJV"
We need to pray for all of the things like our life, our families, backsliders, our community, our nation, the whole world, and our church. Praying is good for us, it helps us get closer to God. When we pray God gives us his power, He doesn't expect us to do anything through our power. God said to be strong in Him and His mighty power. Are you feeling drained? Maybe you have been relying on your abilities rather than relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. God doesn't want us to live life empty. God wants to fill us with His power so that we can do the work God has called us to do. Where do you need to see God's power in your life today? Do you need God's power in a relationship, your job, or a difficult situation? Today, let's thank God for His power that allows us to do all things through Him who gives us strength.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Ephesians 6:10 KJV"
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13 KJV"
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8 KJV"
"For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
1 Corinthians 4:20 KJV"
"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. (Luke 24:30–31 KJV)"
One of my favorite childhood games was hide-and-go-seek. I'm sure you all played it, too or at least some variation of it. The game involves closing your eyes and counting to a certain number while your friends run and hide. Once you finish counting, you are supposed to shout, "Ready or not, here I come!" and start looking. If your friends are good, they can hide from you in plain sight! But when they crawl out from under the couch or slip out of a closet to dash toward the base, your eyes are opened—and you know exactly where they are.
Well, that's a little like what the disciples experienced when Jesus opened their eyes to see Him for who He was. (See Luke 24.) Before this experience, the disciples had a limited perspective. They saw Him as the Teacher, the Prophet, and the Rabbi—but not the Son of God. In essence, Christ was hidden from them in plain sight! But after their eyes were opened, they were illuminated to the truth of His heavenly identity. Shortly after this experience, Jesus vanished out of their sight (a natural sight that is!), but the revelation of who He remained. Now the disciples could see Him even more clearly in His absence than when He was physically present. They knew exactly who and where He was.
The word "opened" here comes from the Greek word dianoigō, which means "to open one's soul, i.e., to arouse...understanding." At that moment, the disciples received supernatural understanding. Many of us need a similar revelation of who Jesus is. This spiritual sight must go beyond our religious experiences to a deeper and more profound revelation. God desires to open our eyes in the spiritual realm so that we will be able to understand and comprehend the will and purpose of God for our lives.
Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance are in the saints." What would happen if our loved ones received a revelation of the risen Christ, that He alone can forgive our sins and bring eternal life? What would happen if we did? Once we and the people we love open our eyes to the truth of the risen Christ, we will experience the supernatural power of God in our lives.
"Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I thank You for who You are and all that You have done in my life. Thank You for opening my spiritual eyes to see the reality of Jesus in my life. I ask that my loved ones are illuminated by Your truth and transformed by the power of Your love. I declare that I walk in supernatural understanding and enlightenment in every area of my life. All spiritual blindness, darkness, and confusion must leave my life right now in Jesus' name! Your Word is a "lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105)
Let take a little time in prayer
Therefore, I declare that the Word of God enlightens my decisions, my thinking, my family, and my finances. Every area in my life is blessed because of the light of Your Word shining in and through it. My future and destiny are brighter because of Your truth. I declare that I will no longer yield to deception, falsehood, or wickedness in any area of my life. Jesus, I declare that You are the Lord of my life. I long to follow You and be Your disciple. I declare that, from this day forward, I will see You in the way the Word of God reveals You. My mind is opened and my soul is aroused to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Amen!
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord , all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psalms 100:1-4 KJV"
"And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord , to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord .
Genesis 18:16-22 KJV"
"And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That is far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spoke unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
Genesis 18:23-30 KJV"
"And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Genesis 18:31-33 KJV"
"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 KJV"
As the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. (Hebrews 3:7–10 KJV)
In the summer of 2000, I met the most important person on earth. I met Jesus when I was only 5 back then I have heard about him all my young life but that was the first time I felt Him in my little heart. He was and still a gentle, kind, patient (even when I am not) and infinitely wise. He was always there for me when no one else was there. And Jesus can be there for you too all you need to do is pray and listen to His voice. When I got older it became hard to pray and read my Bible. I did like it when I did pray I would push God off the throne in my life and I would sit on it and do my own thing. When it would fall apart I would blame God and everyone around me.
That is why we need to pray. We can to our own masters God has to be Our king, lord, and Master in our lives.
Let take a little time in prayer
"Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for who You are and all that You have done. I desire, in the name of Jesus Christ, that I have intimacy with the Holy Spirit. I choose to have a personal relationship with You through Your Spirit. I hear the voice of the Holy Spirit on a consistent basis. I receive strategic direction from the Holy Spirit as it relates to my finances, relationships, choices, occupation, calling, witnessing, and every other area in my life. I love to hear the voice of the Spirit. Lord, I thank You for divine clarity in every area of my life. I declare that there is no more confusion in my mind or spirit because the water of the Word cleanses my soul. Just like radio is tuned to a station and receives that particular transmission, I am tuned in to heaven's frequency and I receive divine insight, wisdom, and revelation in Jesus' name. I decree that every voice in my life that is not the voice of the Holy Spirit is silenced right now in Jesus' name! Amen."
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 15:26 KJV"
"And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord , to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord .
Genesis 18:16-22 KJV"
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 KJV"
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7 KJV"
When we pray we should cast our care on him but we don't. Sometimes we do cast our care on him but when our days get hard we take it out of his hands and that's where we get worried, and discouraged. In this verse God wants us to cast all our care on him which means our worries, doubts, shame, and Discourages. We can't our flesh rule over us.
"And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loose, and he spoke plain.
Mark 7:33-35 KJV"
"And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
Luke 5:16 KJV"
"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
John 17:1-26 KJV"
"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Hebrews 5:7 KJV"
When you pray do you hear His voice?
What is the Holy Spirit saying?
Are you listening to what he is saying?
God gives us strength to go about our day but that doesn't mean we stop praying. We need to pray when we are having a hard time even when we are having a good time. No matter what comes our way we pray. When we pray, let pray for a breakthrough.
When you are praying put away your phones, iPod, iPad, turn off your TV and get to a quiet place. Then start to pray to God and ask him for his help and his power.
