"Worry about nothing; pray about anything; thank about everything!" (paraphrase of Phil. 4:6-7).
"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear" (Isa. 65:24, ESV).
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known" (Jer. 33:3, ESV).
Have you ever yearned to have genuine communion with the Father--the real thing, because this is where the action is and is the acid test of your faith in action? We must all personally enroll in the school of prayer and individually enter the throne room of God, get entree into His presence, and another surreal dimension: "For through Him [Chriist] we have access to the Father by one Spirit," (cf. Eph. 2:18). There is proper protocol for doing this: we boldly approach the throne of grace (cf. Heb. 4:16) in the name of the Son (John 14:14), in the power of the Spirit (Jude 20, Eph. 6:18), and addressed to the Father (Matt. 5:9; this is the biblical paradigm). It is good to "enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with joy" (cf. Psalm 100:4). We all have an innate potential to realize our work in Christ. "God is with us": "He is there, and He is not silent!" (Francis Schaeffer).
God has ordained that prayer be the means to the ends, and both the efficacy of prayer and the sovereignty of God are equally taught in the Word. Only when we are so vulnerable do we bear our soul to God are we ushered into His presence. We must have no unconfessed sin that is an impediment (cf. Psalm 66:18). The way to avoid this is to keep short accounts of our sins and confess them immediately (cf. 1 John 1:9). We all should be honest with God in our own prayer closet and get personal because nothing is too trivial nor too big for Him to handle; everything's small to Him!
We should take the example of the disciples who "devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (cf. Acts 6:4). Keep oriented: The purpose of prayer is prayer, we don't get our will done in heaven, but God's will done on earth. We ask God for what He's already disposed to do! And prayer doesn't change God, it changes us--a successful prayer is when you are in sync with God's will (cf. 1 John 5:14).
We don't need any necessitated or dictated posture, but our attitude is important. We shouldn't get too comfortable, cozy, disrespectful, perfunctory, or automatic. A good prayer is always reverent, humble, and sincere, not ever flippant or casual--but not too formal either--God wants us to speak in everyday talk, in plainspoken words from a needy heart, open mind, and willing spirit. We are created in God's image with the unique ability to communicate with our Maker.
Sometimes we may be unwilling to pray or do God's will; we should then pray for God to make us willing, which He can (cf. Phil. 2:13; Psalm 51:12; Col. 129: Heb. 13:21). All prayer should end in relinquishment: Thy will be done. Amen! This was the motto of Jesus' life! This is no cop-out, nor excuse to cover our tracks if God doesn't answer the way we want, but Jesus said he would answer all prayer in His name and according to His will (cf. John 14:14; 1 John 5:14).
It is said, "It is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." The problem with us is that we cannot pray as we ought and the Holy Spirit must make intercession for us and pray on our behalf in words too deep for us to utter (cf. Rom. 8:26). Caveat: The greatest obstacle to God's will is our will! We must progressively and constantly surrender to the lordship of Christ, and renew it constantly to stay close to the Lord and walk in the Spirit. We should never get ahead of ourselves, but pray for our provisions daily, and walk with the Lord one day at a time (cf. Psalm 118:24; Prov. 27:1), as we are revealed the will of God one day at a time. Soli Deo Gloria!
"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear" (Isa. 65:24, ESV).
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known" (Jer. 33:3, ESV).
Have you ever yearned to have genuine communion with the Father--the real thing, because this is where the action is and is the acid test of your faith in action? We must all personally enroll in the school of prayer and individually enter the throne room of God, get entree into His presence, and another surreal dimension: "For through Him [Chriist] we have access to the Father by one Spirit," (cf. Eph. 2:18). There is proper protocol for doing this: we boldly approach the throne of grace (cf. Heb. 4:16) in the name of the Son (John 14:14), in the power of the Spirit (Jude 20, Eph. 6:18), and addressed to the Father (Matt. 5:9; this is the biblical paradigm). It is good to "enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with joy" (cf. Psalm 100:4). We all have an innate potential to realize our work in Christ. "God is with us": "He is there, and He is not silent!" (Francis Schaeffer).
God has ordained that prayer be the means to the ends, and both the efficacy of prayer and the sovereignty of God are equally taught in the Word. Only when we are so vulnerable do we bear our soul to God are we ushered into His presence. We must have no unconfessed sin that is an impediment (cf. Psalm 66:18). The way to avoid this is to keep short accounts of our sins and confess them immediately (cf. 1 John 1:9). We all should be honest with God in our own prayer closet and get personal because nothing is too trivial nor too big for Him to handle; everything's small to Him!
We should take the example of the disciples who "devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (cf. Acts 6:4). Keep oriented: The purpose of prayer is prayer, we don't get our will done in heaven, but God's will done on earth. We ask God for what He's already disposed to do! And prayer doesn't change God, it changes us--a successful prayer is when you are in sync with God's will (cf. 1 John 5:14).
We don't need any necessitated or dictated posture, but our attitude is important. We shouldn't get too comfortable, cozy, disrespectful, perfunctory, or automatic. A good prayer is always reverent, humble, and sincere, not ever flippant or casual--but not too formal either--God wants us to speak in everyday talk, in plainspoken words from a needy heart, open mind, and willing spirit. We are created in God's image with the unique ability to communicate with our Maker.
Sometimes we may be unwilling to pray or do God's will; we should then pray for God to make us willing, which He can (cf. Phil. 2:13; Psalm 51:12; Col. 129: Heb. 13:21). All prayer should end in relinquishment: Thy will be done. Amen! This was the motto of Jesus' life! This is no cop-out, nor excuse to cover our tracks if God doesn't answer the way we want, but Jesus said he would answer all prayer in His name and according to His will (cf. John 14:14; 1 John 5:14).
It is said, "It is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." The problem with us is that we cannot pray as we ought and the Holy Spirit must make intercession for us and pray on our behalf in words too deep for us to utter (cf. Rom. 8:26). Caveat: The greatest obstacle to God's will is our will! We must progressively and constantly surrender to the lordship of Christ, and renew it constantly to stay close to the Lord and walk in the Spirit. We should never get ahead of ourselves, but pray for our provisions daily, and walk with the Lord one day at a time (cf. Psalm 118:24; Prov. 27:1), as we are revealed the will of God one day at a time. Soli Deo Gloria!
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