Prayer is talking with God
Pray with heartfelt thanks and a revenant awe - giving God the glory for all things
- for all things come from God.
We cannot lie to God for He knows our heart.
Therefore pray honestly for He already knows what we are going to say and what
our attitude will be before we pray. And always remember that prayer
is a very powerful tool that God has provided - but if we try to abuse
prayer it will become fruitless. Prayer is good as long as you are praying according to Gods will.
And Jesus answered and
said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not
doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but
even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the
sea,' it will happen. "And all things you ask in prayer,
believing, you will receive."
(Matthew 21:21-22)
If we pray - and believe that God
will answer us (faith) - according to His will then the prayer will
truly produce results. If however we pray to God for material
riches or power then these things are selfish and not of God and most
likely will not be born from our prayers. God's will for our lives
are things that bring about our growth in Him and love for our fellow
man.
If God knows what we are going to pray for even before we pray - then why
must we pray in the first place?
Just as you sometimes know what your children are going to ask before they
ask it - God also knows what we are going to ask. The act of asking is a
sign that we submit ourselves to Him and His will which shows we are respectful
of Him and in awe of His will. It is also an outward proclamation of His
control over everything in our lives.
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PUSH
A man was sleeping one night in his
cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The
Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock
in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to Push
against the rock with all his might...
So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup
to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface
of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that
his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing
discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by
placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!
'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't
moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was
impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and
disheartened the man.
Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving
just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the
weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and
to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
'Lord,' he said, 'I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting
all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter.
What is wrong? Why am I failing?'
The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to
serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against
the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.
Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.
Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent,
thinking that you have failed..
But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and
muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from
constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass
that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your
calling was to be Obedient and to push and to exercise your Faith and
trust in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the
rock.'
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect
to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple
obedience and faith in Him.
By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that it
is still God Who moves the Mountains.
When everything seems to go wrong...............Just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you down.............................Just P.U.S.H.
People don't do as you think they should.............Just P.U.S.H.
When your money is 'gone' & bills are due...........Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't understand you ......................Just P.U.S.H.
P ............. Pray
U .............. Until
S ... Something
H ...... Happens
There are three
primary settings for biblical prayer which should have priority in our
lives.
Let’s make all three a priority as we seek to deepen our
relationship and communication with the living God
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The Privilege of Prayer
taken from a
message given by Adrian Rogers
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6
Prayer is our
greatest Christian privilege and our greatest Christian failure. Now
there are some valid questions concerning prayer. In my study I’ve tried
to think through some of these and I want to give you some brief
insights.
1.
Why should we pray when God already
knows our needs?
We do not pray to impress or inform God, but to invite Him. We pray to
fellowship with God, so He can develop and grow us, and because we
depend on Him.
2.
For what is it proper to pray?
There is nothing in life that is outside the reach of prayer. If it
concerns you, it concerns God. We sometimes try to divide life into
secular and sacred. We’ll pray about the sacred parts but handle the
secular parts ourselves. Pray for everything.
3.
Does God hear the prayers of the
unsaved?
Cornelius was an unsaved man, but God was aware of his prayer as told in
Acts 10. God can hear the prayer of an unsaved person, but we, who are
His children, have been given so much more – His promises found in His
Word.
4.
Why should we pray in the name of
Jesus?
God promises that He will give us what we ask for when we pray in the
name of Jesus (John 14:13-14). When asking in Jesus’ name, first
consider:
o
His Approval – Does Jesus approve this thing?
o
His Authorization – Is it something He has authorized?
o
His Acclaim – Is it for His glory?
5.
Does God always give us what we ask?
No, and thank God! Sometimes we ask God for the wrong things (Numbers
11:11-15; Matthew 20:20-22). Other times our prayer perhaps is not
answered because there’s sin in our lives (Isaiah 59:2; Psalm 66:18).
6.
Does prayer change the mind of God?
No, it does not. Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. Prayer is
laying hold of God’s will. God is a changeless God (Malachi 3:6; James
1:17). But God will do things when we pray that He will not do if we
don’t pray (James 4:2). Prayer effects what God does, but does not
change Him.
7.
What do we do if our prayers are not
answered?
Persist – There is a time to keep praying. Daniel prayed for
three solid weeks about a matter before God sent an answer (Daniel 10;
Luke 18:1).
Desist - There’s a time to quit praying. Paul prayed three times
for God to remove a thorn in his flesh. God did not give Paul what he
asked, but God gave Paul something better than he asked (2 Corinthians
12:8-9).
8.
Should we expect miracles when we
pray?
Never get in the habit of saying what God cannot do. You will find
clusters of miracles in Bible times. They gave glory to God, validated
His identify, and advanced His work. But these are not normative. God is
still a God of might and miracles (Jeremiah 32:17). If God has a miracle
for you, He’ll give you miracle faith!
9.
Can our prayers override the will of
another person?
No, God has given man a free will (Revelation 22:17). If God were to
force one person to be saved, He’d have to force all six billion people
on earth. However, we can bind the powers of darkness and bring God’s
influence to people in prayer. God does not force salvation, but He
frees people to be saved.
10.
Does God have favorites whose prayer
He hears?
God will hear your prayer just as quickly as He hears mine, Billy
Graham’s, or anybody else’s (Psalm 65:2). However, there are certain
people that if I have a prayer need, I’ll go to. I know that they
believe in prayer; therefore, I can ask them to pray. God has intimates,
but He doesn’t have favorites.
11.
How can I know the will of God in
prayer?
The prayer that gets to heaven is the prayer that starts in heaven. We
just close the circuit. The will of God is what you would want if you
knew everything from God’s viewpoint. The key is to abide in Christ. If
you abide in Him (John 15:7), you will find that God will guide and
direct your prayers, and you will be praying in the will of God.
Don’t wait until
you have all of the answers before you pray. You don’t have to
understand electricity to turn on the lights. “What a privilege to
carry everything to God in prayer.”
