Prayer, the Secret to God’s Heart
My
friends, it can’t be overstated that prayer is well under used, and way
miss-understood. What would happen if we
as the only example of God’s people some folks will see really understood how
to be effectual and fervent with our prayer life. Is prayer a means to financial
freedom? Can prayer be used for
receiving material possessions, or our “heart’s desire” in relationships? Have you ever wondered why aren’t my
prayers getting answered? How many
sermons have you heard of prayer? Did
they put you to sleep?
The purpose of this devotional series is to begin to
understand what prayer is according to the Bible, and what it actually means
when God says…the effectual, fervent prayer…or when we are commanded to be in
the state of continuous prayer. We don’t
have to dust our knees off, or have a specific schedule for this communication
tool. But, if we can begin to
understand, truly understand, how God works, and in turn works in us and
through us, we then can become much more effective for Him.
I hope this series will be useful, and one that
doesn’t put you to sleep, ha ha. But
encourages you to be thrust into a deeper knowledge of our Father, and how He
really wants to work His kingdom within us!
Each week you will receive a one page devotional dealing with one
specific characteristic of God’s Holy Spirit.
But, Bob, I thought we were going to learn about prayer? We are!
But, the key to an “effectual fervent prayer” is to understand the Holy
Spirit that will do the work.
It has been said that the prayer of a righteous
man meets God at the very heart of Him.
Since God is righteous, it is only fair to see the truth in this
saying. If we want to know God, we need
to meet Him on His terms. This is the
importance of prayer. Prayer cuts
through the muck of life, and enters into the Holy of Holies, and gives us a
direct line to the Creator. Paul
absolutely understood this when he wrote:
For this cause I
bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he
would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness
of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19).
He understood the importance and power
of prayer. But prayer is much more than
words. The attitude and motivation of
the prayer warrior is of the utmost importance.
If you notice the above prayer of Paul was to ask God to instill within
those he was praying for with “might by his Spirit in the inner man…that Christ
may dwell in your hearts…by faith…that ye be rooted and grounded in love…” It was for this reason that Paul bowed his
knees on this occasion. He was asking
God to affect in the most profound way our lives.
In the weeks to come, we will begin to
investigate this “Spirit in the inner man” and how He can empower us and our
prayer life, and thus those around us.
God wants so much to richly bless us.
All we need to do is learn how to ask.
We will also have the opportunity to journal our thoughts through a
simple daily devotional. The weekly
devotionals will include a list of scriptures that you may want read, meditate
on and use as a springboard for your prayer time with our Father. Or, you may want to use your own
scripture. That is wonderful too. The key is to be in His Word daily and to
exercise the idea of having that mindset of continuous prayer. May God richly bless you in your endeavors
to learn and practice the wonderful act of prayer.
This week’s scriptures:
Luke 11:9-10 Ephesians 4:1-6
Philippeans 2:1-5 James 1:3-5
Luke 17:20-21 Matthew 5:48
1Corinthians 3:16
I just thought I'd share a prayer taken out of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's book, " Wisdom of the Ages 60 Days to Enlightenment."
ReplyDeleteLord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal light.
St. Francis of Assisi
(1182-1226)
What a wonderful post. This is so appropriate to where this topic will be going. God bless you and keep you! Thank you for sharing.
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