"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people" Ephesian 6:18
I will be the first to admit that I do not pray as often as I should. Sometimes, I turn to God only during a crisis. Or, after a prayer is answered move on to the next situation. It's easy to get out of practice with your prayer life.
I have always felt that prayer suffers from the fact that it's not so flashy. It's not like worship & singing, preaching, or even reading and studying the bible. It also could be that we don't do well in silence (I know I don't). We need noise. Just sitting in the quiet can be a little bit unnerving. Or, we might not like the answers we might get. I am guilty of feeling all those ways with prayer.
I would say early on that I prayed off and on - more off than on I must admit. But, lately I have made a more concerted effort to pray daily. Usually in the evening while lying in bed or while I am driving to work in the mornings. The prayers are nothing fancy - just small prayers about the day to come or what I may be facing in our lives. Praying doesn't have to be an elaborate exercise. We don't get any bonus points for better praying.
There are many things that will happen when you commit to praying more. You will gain a sense of peace about yourself. This doesn't mean you will not run into trouble or not have difficulties. It just means you will be able to weather the storms you encounter in your life if you are praying.
Another thing that happens when you begin to pray more is that you will want to pray even more. You may even pray for things you wouldn't have considered in the past. People tend to pray during times of great crisis or turmoil, not when things are going "good". When you begin to pray more, you will pray throughout all the seasons of your life. You will begin to realize that you need God more and more and will invite Him into more areas of your life. Into items where you felt you had a "good" handle on things.
I have noticed that as I have prayed more, the prayers have become less about me and more about God and His vision. Or, I pray for others, the world, and the church at large. When you pray more, you discover a larger reality and how things really work. Priorities change and you begin to seek God more.
You may find yourself talking less and less during your prayer times. Just sitting there, being silent, and listening. Trying to hear the Lord's voice. Prayer is a two-way street like any other conversation. Let God speak to you and show you. Sometimes, you may hear something audibly, maybe a picture in your mind, or possibly a verse will pop up. Engage in conversation with God. As you learn to listen to God, you will find very often that you will do the same in other conversations you have.
As you pray more, you will encounter more resistance from the world and the enemy. The devil doesn't want you spending time in prayer and will throw roadblocks in your path. The good news is with a foundation of prayer, you should with God's help withstand such attacks. A good prayer life should expect and encounter some kind of spiritual warfare. You are engaging in spiritual warfare just by praying. If the enemy is unhappy and on the attack, then you are involved in something good. You are turning to and relying on God, things the enemy despises. Spiritual attacks don't have to be fire and brimstone. Usually, it is much more subtle - busy days where you justify not praying or the doubts that creep into your mind regarding prayer. The enemy, very rarely, attacks out front. He is a conniver and liar and uses that as his weapons. Continue praying and ask God for help even when you don't feel like praying. You can even be honest and tell God you don't feel like praying and you need His help to get you through.
Praying doesn't have to be elaborate or very long. There is no handbook detailing the right way to pray. They can be long, if you want. Don't be intimated that you have to get things right. Can be as simple as repeating the Lord's Prayer. Every morning when I leave for work, I say a short prayer asking God to allow our cars to work, that me and my wife would have safe journeys, and that we would glorify God today. Nothing fancy, just a realization that I need God today. As a matter of fact, just three days after I started saying that prayer, I got into an accident in downtown Cleveland where I injured my left eye. The other party was extremely gracious and helped me to file the police report. It was a situation where we had to go to the police station (the police didn't come out) and this other person could have left me on my own but didn't. Other people prayed for me that night, and my eye did heal up nicely. Not all prayers and stories go that way. But, that shouldn't stop us from praying. I am just saying that the more you pray, the more that you will have peace regarding any circumstances you will face. And, the more that you pray, the more you will pray, and then the more you will pray...
I will be the first to admit that I do not pray as often as I should. Sometimes, I turn to God only during a crisis. Or, after a prayer is answered move on to the next situation. It's easy to get out of practice with your prayer life.
I have always felt that prayer suffers from the fact that it's not so flashy. It's not like worship & singing, preaching, or even reading and studying the bible. It also could be that we don't do well in silence (I know I don't). We need noise. Just sitting in the quiet can be a little bit unnerving. Or, we might not like the answers we might get. I am guilty of feeling all those ways with prayer.
I would say early on that I prayed off and on - more off than on I must admit. But, lately I have made a more concerted effort to pray daily. Usually in the evening while lying in bed or while I am driving to work in the mornings. The prayers are nothing fancy - just small prayers about the day to come or what I may be facing in our lives. Praying doesn't have to be an elaborate exercise. We don't get any bonus points for better praying.
There are many things that will happen when you commit to praying more. You will gain a sense of peace about yourself. This doesn't mean you will not run into trouble or not have difficulties. It just means you will be able to weather the storms you encounter in your life if you are praying.
Another thing that happens when you begin to pray more is that you will want to pray even more. You may even pray for things you wouldn't have considered in the past. People tend to pray during times of great crisis or turmoil, not when things are going "good". When you begin to pray more, you will pray throughout all the seasons of your life. You will begin to realize that you need God more and more and will invite Him into more areas of your life. Into items where you felt you had a "good" handle on things.
I have noticed that as I have prayed more, the prayers have become less about me and more about God and His vision. Or, I pray for others, the world, and the church at large. When you pray more, you discover a larger reality and how things really work. Priorities change and you begin to seek God more.
You may find yourself talking less and less during your prayer times. Just sitting there, being silent, and listening. Trying to hear the Lord's voice. Prayer is a two-way street like any other conversation. Let God speak to you and show you. Sometimes, you may hear something audibly, maybe a picture in your mind, or possibly a verse will pop up. Engage in conversation with God. As you learn to listen to God, you will find very often that you will do the same in other conversations you have.
As you pray more, you will encounter more resistance from the world and the enemy. The devil doesn't want you spending time in prayer and will throw roadblocks in your path. The good news is with a foundation of prayer, you should with God's help withstand such attacks. A good prayer life should expect and encounter some kind of spiritual warfare. You are engaging in spiritual warfare just by praying. If the enemy is unhappy and on the attack, then you are involved in something good. You are turning to and relying on God, things the enemy despises. Spiritual attacks don't have to be fire and brimstone. Usually, it is much more subtle - busy days where you justify not praying or the doubts that creep into your mind regarding prayer. The enemy, very rarely, attacks out front. He is a conniver and liar and uses that as his weapons. Continue praying and ask God for help even when you don't feel like praying. You can even be honest and tell God you don't feel like praying and you need His help to get you through.
Praying doesn't have to be elaborate or very long. There is no handbook detailing the right way to pray. They can be long, if you want. Don't be intimated that you have to get things right. Can be as simple as repeating the Lord's Prayer. Every morning when I leave for work, I say a short prayer asking God to allow our cars to work, that me and my wife would have safe journeys, and that we would glorify God today. Nothing fancy, just a realization that I need God today. As a matter of fact, just three days after I started saying that prayer, I got into an accident in downtown Cleveland where I injured my left eye. The other party was extremely gracious and helped me to file the police report. It was a situation where we had to go to the police station (the police didn't come out) and this other person could have left me on my own but didn't. Other people prayed for me that night, and my eye did heal up nicely. Not all prayers and stories go that way. But, that shouldn't stop us from praying. I am just saying that the more you pray, the more that you will have peace regarding any circumstances you will face. And, the more that you pray, the more you will pray, and then the more you will pray...
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