A man can know the Bible from cover to cover but feel dead inside if he isn’t seeking to remain near the Lord in a daily devotion of time in the Word and prayer.”
–Kenneth Pratt (To Kill a Dragon)
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
–1 Peter 3:12 (NKJV)
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“Pray without ceasing.” –1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)
“I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere…” –1 Timothy 2:8 (NKJV)
Prayer, we are commanded to pray. Prayer–it is one of our greatest weapons against the enemy. Prayer–it is one of our greatest tools in building the Kingdom. Prayer–we ought, we must pray for each other. Paul said often that he mentioned others in his prayers. It is vital we pray. If we want fellowship (relationship) with the Lord we must pray. The Bible is full of exhortations that we pray, and there are plenty of examples.
For me, prayer is so hard. I read all the books on how to pray. A Christian should not pass through this life without reading E.M. Bounds, but then it is oh, so frustrating.
“Whatever affects the intensity of our prayer affects the value of our work.”
“A lack of ardor in prayer is the sure sign of a lack of depth and of intensity of desire; and the absence of intense desire is a sure sign of God’s absence from the heart!”
“Our prayer-chamber should have our freshest strength, our calmest time, its hours unfettered, without obtrusion, without haste.”
These are just a few quotations from the pen of the great prayer-warrior Bounds. Bounds writes to give us encouragement, to give us direction, but when I try to pray like him, all I get is frustration and depression. Then I think of the Lord’s Prayer (or Disciples’ Prayer if you want to be more modern). It was very short, in fact it is really an outline of how to pray. We praise God, acknowledge who He is and His character. We seek His will and to do that we must have knowledge of the Scriptures. We petition for daily needs, we ask for our sins to be forgiven and our debts, and we acknowledge that we must forgive as well. We pray not to be led into temptation (it comes easily enough on its own).
Let me share with you a couple of writings regarding prayer. I have changed the format some, but not the wording. I hope that you can follow. They both come from “God Is No Fool” by Lois A. Cheney.
#1 One morning I awoke with a desire I wanted to fulfill. It concerned a way I wanted to be. This was a matter to lay before God. This was a matter for prayer. The desire was for a power and goodness, and I wanted the prayer to be right. I would preface my request with an acknowledgement of my unworthiness. This wasn’t false; I knew it, and God would accept it.
All day phrases and words came to me. My special prayer took shape. I would set aside a time. I would approach him in truth. In the evening I closed myself away from others. I read from his word. I reviews the phrases and words of my very special prayer. Before I got really settled down, I was flooded with the answer, and I was the way I wanted to be. But I felt cheated. I had wanted that moment of communication with God. Then I thought I heard something. “I heard you this morning.” I think I have a lot to learn about prayer.
#2 One morning I awoke with a desire I wanted to fulfill. It concerned a way I wanted to be. This was a matter to lay before God. This was a matter for prayer. The desire was for a power and goodness, and I wanted the prayer to be right. I would preface my request with an acknowledgment of my unworthiness. This wasn’t false; I knew it, and God would accept it.
All day phrases and words escaped me. my special prayer lay limp and wouldn’t take shape. I would set aside a time. I would approach him in truth. In the evening I closed myself away from others. I read from his word. I fought for phrases and words–I felt embarrassed and mute. And the world got bigger, and God got greater, and I got smaller. Frustrated, I jerked to reality, and suddenly I was flooded with the answer, and I was the way I wanted to be.
But I felt confused…I had wanted that moment of communication with God, but I had found myself impotent and alone. Then I thought I heard something. “I heard you this morning.” I think I have a lot to learn about prayer.
Pray without ceasing! We pray in conversation with God. The more of His word we have in our hearts and minds, the more easily it is to communicate with Him. If you want a relationship it is important to realize that He is with you every step of the way and if you are walking with Him, you should be talking with Him. When I came across the idea from Rosalind Rinker’s book about this it totally changed my prayer life. Of course there is a time for formal prayer, there are special occasions in which we pray, but most of our prayer should simply be a conversation with the Lord, about everyday life, about whatever comes to our mind, about situations, circumstances, issues, problems, that we are facing. One other thing I have done since I retired is to keep a “prayer calendar.” This helps me in praying for the needs of others.
Let me conclude this little more lengthy devotion with words that are meant for you and me today, in this hour in which we live. They are words from Peter, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7, NKJV)
———————————–
“Pray without ceasing.” –1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)
“I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere…” –1 Timothy 2:8 (NKJV)
Prayer, we are commanded to pray. Prayer–it is one of our greatest weapons against the enemy. Prayer–it is one of our greatest tools in building the Kingdom. Prayer–we ought, we must pray for each other. Paul said often that he mentioned others in his prayers. It is vital we pray. If we want fellowship (relationship) with the Lord we must pray. The Bible is full of exhortations that we pray, and there are plenty of examples.
For me, prayer is so hard. I read all the books on how to pray. A Christian should not pass through this life without reading E.M. Bounds, but then it is oh, so frustrating.
“Whatever affects the intensity of our prayer affects the value of our work.”
“A lack of ardor in prayer is the sure sign of a lack of depth and of intensity of desire; and the absence of intense desire is a sure sign of God’s absence from the heart!”
“Our prayer-chamber should have our freshest strength, our calmest time, its hours unfettered, without obtrusion, without haste.”
These are just a few quotations from the pen of the great prayer-warrior Bounds. Bounds writes to give us encouragement, to give us direction, but when I try to pray like him, all I get is frustration and depression. Then I think of the Lord’s Prayer (or Disciples’ Prayer if you want to be more modern). It was very short, in fact it is really an outline of how to pray. We praise God, acknowledge who He is and His character. We seek His will and to do that we must have knowledge of the Scriptures. We petition for daily needs, we ask for our sins to be forgiven and our debts, and we acknowledge that we must forgive as well. We pray not to be led into temptation (it comes easily enough on its own).
Let me share with you a couple of writings regarding prayer. I have changed the format some, but not the wording. I hope that you can follow. They both come from “God Is No Fool” by Lois A. Cheney.
#1 One morning I awoke with a desire I wanted to fulfill. It concerned a way I wanted to be. This was a matter to lay before God. This was a matter for prayer. The desire was for a power and goodness, and I wanted the prayer to be right. I would preface my request with an acknowledgement of my unworthiness. This wasn’t false; I knew it, and God would accept it.
All day phrases and words came to me. My special prayer took shape. I would set aside a time. I would approach him in truth. In the evening I closed myself away from others. I read from his word. I reviews the phrases and words of my very special prayer. Before I got really settled down, I was flooded with the answer, and I was the way I wanted to be. But I felt cheated. I had wanted that moment of communication with God. Then I thought I heard something. “I heard you this morning.” I think I have a lot to learn about prayer.
#2 One morning I awoke with a desire I wanted to fulfill. It concerned a way I wanted to be. This was a matter to lay before God. This was a matter for prayer. The desire was for a power and goodness, and I wanted the prayer to be right. I would preface my request with an acknowledgment of my unworthiness. This wasn’t false; I knew it, and God would accept it.
All day phrases and words escaped me. my special prayer lay limp and wouldn’t take shape. I would set aside a time. I would approach him in truth. In the evening I closed myself away from others. I read from his word. I fought for phrases and words–I felt embarrassed and mute. And the world got bigger, and God got greater, and I got smaller. Frustrated, I jerked to reality, and suddenly I was flooded with the answer, and I was the way I wanted to be.
But I felt confused…I had wanted that moment of communication with God, but I had found myself impotent and alone. Then I thought I heard something. “I heard you this morning.” I think I have a lot to learn about prayer.
Pray without ceasing! We pray in conversation with God. The more of His word we have in our hearts and minds, the more easily it is to communicate with Him. If you want a relationship it is important to realize that He is with you every step of the way and if you are walking with Him, you should be talking with Him. When I came across the idea from Rosalind Rinker’s book about this it totally changed my prayer life. Of course there is a time for formal prayer, there are special occasions in which we pray, but most of our prayer should simply be a conversation with the Lord, about everyday life, about whatever comes to our mind, about situations, circumstances, issues, problems, that we are facing. One other thing I have done since I retired is to keep a “prayer calendar.” This helps me in praying for the needs of others.
Let me conclude this little more lengthy devotion with words that are meant for you and me today, in this hour in which we live. They are words from Peter, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7, NKJV)